ALERT: Porzingis A 'Full-Go' At Mavs Practice
The Dallas Mavericks said, going into last week's three-game, season-starting road trip, that Kristaps Porzingis would travel with the club and "ramp up'' the rehab of his post-surgery knee.
Now they are home. And the ramp-up continues.
"He was a full-go today in practice,'' Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said on Tuesday. "So that was great to see. ... He hasn't missed a beat with rehab. (He) hasn't had setbacks.''
It's important news. But does it change anything?
Porzingis, Carlisle said, participated last Saturday in a 30-minutes-long 4-on-4 practice session.
“He had one day where he played half-court 2 on 2, and (Saturday) he played about 30 minutes of 4-on-4 which is great. (He) did well.
“But he has a ways to go,'' Carlisle said then. "And then we got to try to get him enough practice reps during a year when ... quality practice time is probably going to be more difficult to come by because of how the schedule is done these days.''
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The Mavs, now 1-2, have every reason to prioritize "quality practice time'' for Porzingis, who is coming off the torn meniscus surgery and when he is right, is an All-Star-level threat for Dallas. But they also need to be smart and patient.
"I felt good out there, moving around & feeling the contact," Porzinigis said. "After practice, I played some 1-on-1s. I wanna get back into the rhythm of playing against contact. The next step is getting right to be able to step on the court & play a game."
Without the 7-3 Porzingis in the lineup, Dallas has experienced some rebound and second-chance-points issues.
Porzingis can fix some of that once he returns, which the club has always projected figures to be in mid-January.
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And despite the fine news on Tuesday, the projection seems to remain the same.
"Sometime in the next couple of weeks isn't far-fetched,'' Carlisle said. "But it isn't certain, either."
