The Knicks are preparing for Game 3 as if Kristaps Porzingis will be at full strength.
“Yeah, you’ve got to plan for everything. All the possibilities that could occur,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said after Friday’s practice. “We know the strengths and weaknesses of their team. And they’re the defending champions, so we understand we have to bring it for 48 minutes. There has to be urgency, there has to be force, there has to be intensity, there has to [be] concentration. Right? And that’s the way we’re approaching it.”
Porzingis, the former Knicks first-round pick, has played just 27 minutes across Games 1 and 2 as he battles an undisclosed illness. He left the series opener early after missing all four of his shot attempts, then played limited minutes in Game 2 — though he scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting during that stretch.
The Celtics say the seven-footer is dealing with fatigue and difficulty breathing, and they’re hopeful the two-day break between Games 2 and 3 will help him recover.
“He’s one of the more talented big men in the NBA,” said Karl-Anthony Towns. “When you have someone who’s at that size who can shoot the basketball the way he does, obviously presents a ton of problems. Like I said, we had two days with game-planning. We’ve been able to look at the film to try to rectify the mistakes we’ve made in the first two games. Just want to present the best version of ourselves tomorrow.”
And if Porzingis is close to 100%, the Knicks know they’ll have their hands full. In Boston’s April 8 overtime win at Madison Square Garden, Porzingis torched New York for 34 points and hit eight of his 13 attempts from deep.
“He’s obviously a big difference just because of what he’s able to do for their team,” said Jalen Brunson. “Regardless of what happens, we’ve gotta be ready to go and be locked in together. We can’t leave anyone on an island, having each other’s backs for every situation, attack it together.”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla pushed back on reports that Boston was in the dark about what’s been affecting their starting center.
“We do know [what it is]. He has an illness,” Mazzulla said in an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “He has the effects of that illness — fatigue and breathing — and he’s doing everything he can to give us what he has.”
Mazzulla added that Boston is hoping to build on Porzingis’ brief but efficient stint in Game 2 — and that the extra time off has helped.
“We hope he continues to get better and better with these two days off,” he continued. “We hope that it will be better. We need him for us to be at our best. He’s in there every day, doing what he can, and I thought he gave us those 13 or 14 minutes were good and hopefully we can build on that with a couple of these days off.”
Porzingis averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this season while shooting 48% from the field and 41% from three. But that efficiency dropped off significantly during Boston’s first-round series against the Magic — where he averaged just 12 points per game on 35% shooting from the field and 12% from deep. According to ESPN, the illness has been lingering since the second half of the regular season.
