Before tip-off, head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Kristaps Porzingis, “he’s probable. We’ll see how he goes through his shooting routine, and whatever gives us the best chance to win, that’s what we’ll do.”
Joe Mazzulla gives status update on Kristaps Porzingis before game 2
“He’s probable. We’ll see how he goes through his shooting routine, and whatever gives us the best chance to win, that’s what we’ll do.” pic.twitter.com/HAPpP3hEEb
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) May 7, 2025
To start Game 2, that meant moving him to the bench in favor of the veteran Al Horford.
After returning from foot surgery at the beginning of the year, Porzingis’ return has had mixed results. Despite being fairly efficient when he played, the starting five with Horford has flourished with a +17.7 net rating in the regular season — that’s the highest efficiency of any fivesome with over 250 minutes played.
It’s been speculated that his departure from Game 1 and his spotty availability is related to the mystery that knocked Porzingis out of several games in early March.
Halfway through the first quarter, Luke Kornet got the first bigs minutes off the bench, but Porzingis would replace him at the 2:39 mark. However, it was an inauspicious start to Game 2 for the big man. On his first possession, Porzingis was called for a 24-second shot clock violation. The Celtics tried to find him in the post several times in his first stint of just under six minutes, but they couldn’t generate anything and were a -5 in his playing time.
