The Boston Celtics are coming off their 18th championship in franchise history. Behind the strong play of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the best regular season team in the league lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games. Their title defense will be a little more difficult to start out the season. Kristaps Porzingis underwent knee surgery and will be out for five to six months for recovery causing him to miss the start of the season.
Boston Celtics Kristaps Porzingis To Miss Start Of Season
Kristaps Porzingis suffered the injury in game two of the NBA Finals. It is a rare injury and is officially a torn medial retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon. He missed games three and four of the finals before playing 16 minutes in the title-clinching game. The former New York Knicks lottery picks said he didn’t care about the recovery time. The title was worth it.
“I don’t care. I will fix it. This is the most important, and after my injury healing, and all that, it’s totally worth it.”
The Boston Celtics will have to weather the beginning of the season without their star big man but they showed in the playoffs they can win without him. While Kristaps Porzingis completely changes their offense, Tatum and Brown provide plenty of scoring and defense to carry the team. The five to six-month recovery means Porzingis could make his debut around Christmas. However, the Celtics will likely be very cautious with his recovery.
Chances Of A Repeat
The Boston Celtics will keep their team mostly intact for next year. The top six on their roster will be back. In the Eastern Conference, there are a lot of questions behind them. The Milwaukee Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but that team is aging rapidly. New York has gone all in with the trade of Mikal Bridges, but we don’t know what they will look like. Philadelphia will be back, but Joel Embiid always seems to falter in the playoffs.
The conference will be there for the taking next season. Boston will be the favorite going into the season and likely throughout the season. However, Kristaps Porzingis’s injury does bring some concerns.
Can They Weather The Storm?
Boston will now have a target on their back. While this franchise already has a target, being the defending champs will make it bigger. Teams will get up for games against the Celtics. If the elongated absence of Kristaps Porzingis affects the team more than we thought, this team could have some ground to make up once the calendar turns over to 2025.
While this is concerning, any team with Brown and Tatum will be fine. They should be one of the best regular-season teams in the league next year and get an opportunity to defend their title.
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