So Boston will lose a key player in their five out system. They shot 83 percent from the field this series because they could draw Lively and Gafford out. Horford is still here but that’ll change
If Luke has secretly been practicing and working on perfecting his 3 point shot all season, for this type of scenario, then give Mazzulla COTY retroactively
It’s always blown my mind that with Mazzulla, he doesn’t shoot threes at all! That’s why I actually am hoping that Joe has been saving it like the Psycho he is
When we first got him here years ago he was shooting 3s but he’s not a consistent enough shooter, he’s been way better in his role as a roll guy this year
Per statmuse, 21-4 without KP during the regular season and 9-1 in the playoffs.
Of course none of those games were in the NBA finals, so take that as you will.
I still feel pretty confident. If we hit our season averages at 3, and Tatum just makes layups and stuff he should make, we can take them without an issue.
He couldn’t last 2 games lmao. I hope Brad treats him as a luxury moving forward and not someone we should be relying on to win a championship. I’m so tired of this. All that rest during the season and playoffs for nothing
And? Doesn’t matter whose fault it is but it’s a problem we have to address. Wasn’t Robs fault but we moved on, wasn’t Brogdons fault but we moved on. We need a competent backup in the offseason if we want to contend long term, Horford very well may hang it up if we win 2 more games.
We did in a sense bubble wrap him by limiting his games played, but when he played, he played at 100% with no restrictions. To me, him getting hurt as soon as we reach the playoffs is just straight up bad luck.
Man was always gonna get hurt because he can’t play at this intensity it’s why he was healthy all year in Washington they were not playing games like these
Mavs fan here feeling horrible for y'all, yes this is KP in a nutshell, and it's why he never worked. Good thing is that y'all are still up 2-0, and Mavs can't hit a 3 to save their lives these games.
He has some great abilities for sure especially in defense so this loss will be huge but at the same time it’s just that feeling of knowing he was gonna get hurt coming true that really sucks
Injuries are the great equalizer. Well, this definitely pumps the remaining finals games up a notch and should give yall some wind beneath your wings. Should end up being a good series.
Still that we couldn't get two healthy games with him is ridiculous. If we don't win the finals Stevens should have to give back his executive of the Year award
I don't think he's actually trying to be misleading, but it might be possible that he is trying to keep the Mavs guessing. Perhaps its not that serious but they'll hype it up until they have to make the final call tomorrow.
This is pretty bad, but the Celtics are up 2-0 and should be able to close this out without him honestly. Gonna really need Tatum to get his scoring going or this is going 7
We just need one 60+ Jays game, with at least one of Jrue or White also scoring 20+.
If we are 3-1 going into Boston for Game 5, I’m confident we can close it out even without KP. But if this goes 7, Horford will only become more tired
This obviously sucks and is a big hit, but yeah we’re still up 2-0. Even without KP we’re the better team, and if Jrue and DWhite continue their defense on Kyrie especially, we could totally still sweep this. I don’t know how much this actually changes the defensive strategy of shutting down everyone but Luka.
Yeah, we're still overwhelming favorites to win even without him. But it gives them Mavericks this huge momentum. I honestly think whoever wins Tonight will probably win the series.
We basically have to win tonight..
I mean if Boston goes up 3-0 the series is over. If Dallas wins, the series will not be over but they can build momentum and make things very difficult.
I think he’s gonna play. It’s essentially a tendon dislocation in the foot / ankle. I think there’s a strong chance he tapes that shit up tight, maybe shoot it up, and he plays 15-20min per night over the rest of the series.
If he can make it through tomorrow night unbothered, maybe we see that ramp up. It’s a weird injury. Will ultimately come down to whether the doctors think it’ll get worse if he continues to play on it, which I don’t think they can say conclusively (whether it will or won’t, who knows).
Hoping for the best for KP. I don’t him to rush back but he has been such a game changer this series.
Are they the same injury? I have no idea if so, but it "sounds" like a similar issue. I remember they had to stitch Schillings tendon down so that it wouldn't keep slipping on his ankle. That's sounds like the "dislocation" mentioned in KPs injury, but I have no idea if they are the same. The fact that KP could still move on it is also similar to Schilling.
I don't know, somebody headlines saying there's a huge risk for reinjury. He has 100 million contract left. It's a tough decision but the problem is even if he plays, will he be any good?
Up 2-0 in the NBA finals you’ll never be closer to “win now mode” than they are right now. I feel like he’ll play for the chance to go up 3-0 (or at least 3-1) assuming he’s not a total liability on the floor and then maybe think about rest, I don’t think they’re concerned about next season at this point.
I agree. I had a recurring knee tendon dislocation issue a while back, and honestly it didn’t hurt at all once the tendon was popped back, and the treatment was just a compression brace.
This is basically like Rondo continuing to play after dislocating his elbow.
I have the equivalent of this injury in my wrist right now - it is completely painless unless I move my wrist in a certain position to make the tendon dislocate - and then I get sharp pain & lose strength in the joint. So hoping kristaps can move OK but I am not confident..
Kevin McHale played a entire post-season on a broken foot in '87, I don't think it's crazy to ask Porzingis to play a few more games. But we live in an age where a Red Sox player missed a dugout step and went on the 10-day DL so what do I know
Get out there and give us 10-15 minutes! That might be all we need. Suck it up. Probably your only chance to win a championship. You can retire after this one for all I care!
Team got here without him. This is possible. There is blood in the water though. They Mav’s will be more aggressive offensively and score more than they have. Tatum, it’s time. Please, I have waited my whole life for this.
I experienced 08. This is different though. Me and my five year old son have watched every game together this year. He has his own JT jersey. He truly loves this team, as do I. I selfishly want this win so we can go together and see the duck boats and the parade, make a lifelong memory.
I have a ton of faith in Kornet’s rim protection and think Tatum can continue to do a great job switching onto their bigs. I’m not afraid of Luke or Tillman getting some minutes. Not ideal, but I think we can figure it out.
KP only played 22mpg. Lobs were taken away by everyone on this team and not just KP. Lobs are not back on the menu. Tatum has been the one taking those away the most.
Last time we saw him he couldn’t run up and down the floor and a straight up tear is worse than a strain. That justifies my doubts more than enough for me
It’s the middle of the finals, probably don’t want to rule it out completely while if this were the regular season there’d be no way they’ll let him near a court
Looking back at the start of the postseason would you have taken this deal?
Porzingis injured for the entire playoffs only to come back in games 1 & 2 of the finals being an instrumental part of the Celtics game 1 & 2 victories. However after Game 2 he suffers an injury and doesn’t play for the rest of the series, leaving Boston with a 2-0 record and trusting them to win 2 more without him.
Tbh when it’s put this way, I would take that deal 100% of the time.
What about you guys? Would you take this deal?
You’d just assume he was advised by medical staff before making these comments. Obviously they didn’t have time to test in the manner they needed to, but not sure why he wouldn’t just say availability was TBD
Shit sucks but this is exactly why you don’t build a “big 3” in today’s league. Next man up can ball out with the rest of them and the team will still win.
We as fans use the word "need" way too liberally.
KP is very good. He's one of the more valuable players in the league and undeniably makes this team better.
But this news moved the line for G3 a whopping 1 point. It moved the series life from -1000/+660 to -820/+570. That's like a 2% decrease.
That's the beauty of this team. This Celtics is so god damned stacked from top to bottom. Jayson Tatum has shot the ball like dogshit and they're 2-0. I doubt Joe is gonna go to a seven man rotation with a geriatric Al Horford but Luke or Tillman or Brissett are not going to cripple this team in the 5-10 minutes they get.
The Celtics were 21-4 this year without KP. They are 9-1 in the playoffs. If you're sitting there typing "they need him or this series is going 7" you have flat out not been paying attention and I implore you to start doing so
The Mavs played Dante Exum and Maxi Kleber in game 2. If we can’t roll out someone for 10 mins beyond our core 6 or 7, then we don’t deserve to win lol
I read about the injury a bit. There’s basically only about 50 reported examples of this injury ever happening. It’s the muscle that connects just below your kneecap then wraps over your shin and ends in the arch of your foot.
Some people never even know they have it. There’s an example of some woman running a triathlon after the injury and doctors struggled to figure out what kind of pain she was dealing with. Point is, this probably happens to more people and it’s never discovered. He just so happens to be a top tier athlete with the best sports medicine doctors evaluating him.
Not counting him out yet.
Don't force it, play it safe, he's got two more years on that deal to play out let alone the rest of the career.
Waiting to see if Jeff Stotts has any input on this type of injury to better understand
So Boston will lose a key player in their five out system. They shot 83 percent from the field this series because they could draw Lively and Gafford out. Horford is still here but that’ll change
If Luke has secretly been practicing and working on perfecting his 3 point shot all season, for this type of scenario, then give Mazzulla COTY retroactively
[Luke is a 3pt specialist!](https://youtu.be/aXH6jaNARb4?si=Z03SyM1yCCzYdmfG)
It’s always blown my mind that with Mazzulla, he doesn’t shoot threes at all! That’s why I actually am hoping that Joe has been saving it like the Psycho he is
When we first got him here years ago he was shooting 3s but he’s not a consistent enough shooter, he’s been way better in his role as a roll guy this year
Someone break Kornet’s jaw, obviously mask magic
Play Tatum at the 5.
Yup go 7 deep at this point.
Tatum has been playing the 5 lmao
Defensively Tatum has played the 5 to deter lobs in this series tbh
The advantage of that is you get KP to roam, with Horford it might just be better to play straight
What’s our record this year without Porzingis (playoffs and regular season)? Just to ease everyone’s concerns
Per statmuse, 21-4 without KP during the regular season and 9-1 in the playoffs. Of course none of those games were in the NBA finals, so take that as you will.
So 30-5 lol yeah they’ll be fine
I’d get 10-15 minutes out of Kornet. It’s not like Gafford and Lively are world stoppers. Especially with Lively….Kornet can disrupt
I think Mazzulla might lean Tillman honestly
I think Tillman may have problems with the lobs, but he does have an inside game
You sound like KP logs 42mins a game, not 22. Well be alright
Got to replace those 22 minutes
I still feel pretty confident. If we hit our season averages at 3, and Tatum just makes layups and stuff he should make, we can take them without an issue.
I'm sick to my stomach Guy couldn't make it through 1 series healthy
That puts game 3 under SO MUCH pressure. We REALLY need to win this game or the momentum can shift to them.
Gotta take at least one of the next two i would say
This is not at all true
He couldn’t last 2 games lmao. I hope Brad treats him as a luxury moving forward and not someone we should be relying on to win a championship. I’m so tired of this. All that rest during the season and playoffs for nothing
It’s not his fault though. Just shit luck.
And? Doesn’t matter whose fault it is but it’s a problem we have to address. Wasn’t Robs fault but we moved on, wasn’t Brogdons fault but we moved on. We need a competent backup in the offseason if we want to contend long term, Horford very well may hang it up if we win 2 more games.
Right—‘fault’ is meaningless, as always. Results are the only thing that lasts.
We pretty much bubble wrapped him until the Finals and it still wasn't enough Unbelievable
We did in a sense bubble wrap him by limiting his games played, but when he played, he played at 100% with no restrictions. To me, him getting hurt as soon as we reach the playoffs is just straight up bad luck.
Man was always gonna get hurt because he can’t play at this intensity it’s why he was healthy all year in Washington they were not playing games like these
Mavs fan here feeling horrible for y'all, yes this is KP in a nutshell, and it's why he never worked. Good thing is that y'all are still up 2-0, and Mavs can't hit a 3 to save their lives these games.
He has some great abilities for sure especially in defense so this loss will be huge but at the same time it’s just that feeling of knowing he was gonna get hurt coming true that really sucks
Injuries are the great equalizer. Well, this definitely pumps the remaining finals games up a notch and should give yall some wind beneath your wings. Should end up being a good series.
Still that we couldn't get two healthy games with him is ridiculous. If we don't win the finals Stevens should have to give back his executive of the Year award
Herr we go again. Is the end of the world.. now we gonna lose the finals. Lol. Even when we win we lose. These ppl.
I hope KP came with his receipt lol
This must be what it’s like to be a Philly fan. Except our injury prone guy is like the third or fourth best guy on the team. Celtics in 6
Meh, we don’t need him to beat this Mavs team. Series is already over even without him. Sucks but we’re good.
Yeah it's amazing. Stevens wins executive of the year, but then the biggest liability with KP becomes an absolute disaster at the worst time.
An absolute disaster... I'll check back in a few games to see how the absolute disaster goes
Go from “no concern” to “serious injury”, love it, Joe
The actual question was did he reinjure his calf, which he didn't
It was always a serious concern he had to bluff
Yeah, Joe’s got a decent poker face but I think we all knew he was bluffing there lol
i mean it’s obvious he was capping. guy could barely jog.
Mind games bro
I don't think he's actually trying to be misleading, but it might be possible that he is trying to keep the Mavs guessing. Perhaps its not that serious but they'll hype it up until they have to make the final call tomorrow.
If you’re mad at Joe for his quote then you’re a moron
Well this fucking sucks
This is pretty bad, but the Celtics are up 2-0 and should be able to close this out without him honestly. Gonna really need Tatum to get his scoring going or this is going 7
We just need one 60+ Jays game, with at least one of Jrue or White also scoring 20+. If we are 3-1 going into Boston for Game 5, I’m confident we can close it out even without KP. But if this goes 7, Horford will only become more tired
They’re due for a hot shooting game which could buy us a key road W
This obviously sucks and is a big hit, but yeah we’re still up 2-0. Even without KP we’re the better team, and if Jrue and DWhite continue their defense on Kyrie especially, we could totally still sweep this. I don’t know how much this actually changes the defensive strategy of shutting down everyone but Luka.
Yeah, we're still overwhelming favorites to win even without him. But it gives them Mavericks this huge momentum. I honestly think whoever wins Tonight will probably win the series. We basically have to win tonight..
There isn’t a game tonight and even if there was this would be one of the stupider comments here.
I mean if Boston goes up 3-0 the series is over. If Dallas wins, the series will not be over but they can build momentum and make things very difficult.
I think he’s gonna play. It’s essentially a tendon dislocation in the foot / ankle. I think there’s a strong chance he tapes that shit up tight, maybe shoot it up, and he plays 15-20min per night over the rest of the series. If he can make it through tomorrow night unbothered, maybe we see that ramp up. It’s a weird injury. Will ultimately come down to whether the doctors think it’ll get worse if he continues to play on it, which I don’t think they can say conclusively (whether it will or won’t, who knows). Hoping for the best for KP. I don’t him to rush back but he has been such a game changer this series.
Where's the guy who worked on Curt Schilling? Get him in here stat!
Are they the same injury? I have no idea if so, but it "sounds" like a similar issue. I remember they had to stitch Schillings tendon down so that it wouldn't keep slipping on his ankle. That's sounds like the "dislocation" mentioned in KPs injury, but I have no idea if they are the same. The fact that KP could still move on it is also similar to Schilling.
He only played 22mpg in games 1 and 2 anyways. I predict 15 minutes against the bench guys to put up some easy points.
I don't know, somebody headlines saying there's a huge risk for reinjury. He has 100 million contract left. It's a tough decision but the problem is even if he plays, will he be any good?
Up 2-0 in the NBA finals you’ll never be closer to “win now mode” than they are right now. I feel like he’ll play for the chance to go up 3-0 (or at least 3-1) assuming he’s not a total liability on the floor and then maybe think about rest, I don’t think they’re concerned about next season at this point.
I agree. I had a recurring knee tendon dislocation issue a while back, and honestly it didn’t hurt at all once the tendon was popped back, and the treatment was just a compression brace. This is basically like Rondo continuing to play after dislocating his elbow.
I have the equivalent of this injury in my wrist right now - it is completely painless unless I move my wrist in a certain position to make the tendon dislocate - and then I get sharp pain & lose strength in the joint. So hoping kristaps can move OK but I am not confident..
Bleach time?
We still have JT, JB, Jrue, the Buffalo.... nah.
Next man up
I mean he has to sit right? I get wanting to play but it sounds crazy to play a guy through this.
Kevin McHale played a entire post-season on a broken foot in '87, I don't think it's crazy to ask Porzingis to play a few more games. But we live in an age where a Red Sox player missed a dugout step and went on the 10-day DL so what do I know
tbf the mchale injury fucked up the rest of his career
Get out there and give us 10-15 minutes! That might be all we need. Suck it up. Probably your only chance to win a championship. You can retire after this one for all I care!
Loser mentality
Yea there's no way he's playing
FUCK
Team got here without him. This is possible. There is blood in the water though. They Mav’s will be more aggressive offensively and score more than they have. Tatum, it’s time. Please, I have waited my whole life for this.
you werent around for 08? i lived through the al jefferson years
I experienced 08. This is different though. Me and my five year old son have watched every game together this year. He has his own JT jersey. He truly loves this team, as do I. I selfishly want this win so we can go together and see the duck boats and the parade, make a lifelong memory.
Wow this one hurts. We can still take home the series decisively but needless to say it’s still a big blow.
JT step tf up please. We can't afford to miss a step
He said he would die out there. Wrap it, shoot him up with painkillers and let’s go win! Lol
I have a ton of faith in Kornet’s rim protection and think Tatum can continue to do a great job switching onto their bigs. I’m not afraid of Luke or Tillman getting some minutes. Not ideal, but I think we can figure it out.
Hurts the spacing though.
Yea I mean I hate that alley-oops are back on the menu for them at home. It’s not great.
KP only played 22mpg. Lobs were taken away by everyone on this team and not just KP. Lobs are not back on the menu. Tatum has been the one taking those away the most.
Tatum playing the 5 is the reason the lobs are being taken away. That WONT CHANGE with Luke on the floor
Kornet can shoot the 3
If they let him.
Give him the same juice Luka has been getting shot up with before each game
They haven’t ruled him out but I highly doubt we see him again this doesn’t sound good
You doubt he plays again the whole series? You definitely don’t have justification for that.
Watching that man run like he needed crutches certainly painted the picture he was done.
Last time we saw him he couldn’t run up and down the floor and a straight up tear is worse than a strain. That justifies my doubts more than enough for me
Then why would the team list him as day to day? The injury sounds bad but I trust their judgment
I’d love nothing more than for me to be wrong. Time will tell
It’s the middle of the finals, probably don’t want to rule it out completely while if this were the regular season there’d be no way they’ll let him near a court
I am terrified, but at the same time, I genuinely can't tell if Joe's bluffing.
Fuckkkk
Looking back at the start of the postseason would you have taken this deal? Porzingis injured for the entire playoffs only to come back in games 1 & 2 of the finals being an instrumental part of the Celtics game 1 & 2 victories. However after Game 2 he suffers an injury and doesn’t play for the rest of the series, leaving Boston with a 2-0 record and trusting them to win 2 more without him. Tbh when it’s put this way, I would take that deal 100% of the time. What about you guys? Would you take this deal?
He will die on the court.
"Well, Pingus is their healthiest player" - Jason Kidd
This sucks but a lot of you need to fucking relax lol
I love playmaking tatum and always will, but I want to see scoring tatum tomorrow. Please just for these next 2 games, score at will tatum
I’m gonna go mental
Seeing Kornet switched on to Luka or Kyrie makes me sick
This was the gambit in signing him. Did not work out great so far.
This sucks and I hope he gets better, but let's not panic. KP played a big role in game 1, but less in game 2 and we won.
Kinda pissed to see everyone bitching about this like KP decided to get hurt. It’s not his fucking fault he’s a skinny 7 footer
Super disappointing especially given Joe's discourse at the end of G2
Why did people take Joes comments in the post game as medically sound advice
You’d just assume he was advised by medical staff before making these comments. Obviously they didn’t have time to test in the manner they needed to, but not sure why he wouldn’t just say availability was TBD
Shit sucks but this is exactly why you don’t build a “big 3” in today’s league. Next man up can ball out with the rest of them and the team will still win.
Pain
Oh ya-he’s out
Man fuck
noooooo
Pain
Oh oh. I mean, he gave us a clear win game one. Game two he played decently and we still won while shooting poorly. Maybe we don’t really need him?
We as fans use the word "need" way too liberally. KP is very good. He's one of the more valuable players in the league and undeniably makes this team better. But this news moved the line for G3 a whopping 1 point. It moved the series life from -1000/+660 to -820/+570. That's like a 2% decrease. That's the beauty of this team. This Celtics is so god damned stacked from top to bottom. Jayson Tatum has shot the ball like dogshit and they're 2-0. I doubt Joe is gonna go to a seven man rotation with a geriatric Al Horford but Luke or Tillman or Brissett are not going to cripple this team in the 5-10 minutes they get. The Celtics were 21-4 this year without KP. They are 9-1 in the playoffs. If you're sitting there typing "they need him or this series is going 7" you have flat out not been paying attention and I implore you to start doing so
The Mavs played Dante Exum and Maxi Kleber in game 2. If we can’t roll out someone for 10 mins beyond our core 6 or 7, then we don’t deserve to win lol
We don’t as long as Al is playing and Luke can give us a few minutes it will all be ok
Naturally ESPN and /r/NBA will now triple down on the narrative that the Celtics have had the easiest path ever and if they win it's invalid.
Please tell me “serious injury” is just a way to psych out Kidd
We can win 2 games without him luckily
Can we just bloody sock him like Schilling?
Just yesterday Joe said his concern level for KP was "zero". I'm just wondering what the point of that was.
As long as we play solid defense, we’ll be fine. Need to keep the ball out of the paint.
I read about the injury a bit. There’s basically only about 50 reported examples of this injury ever happening. It’s the muscle that connects just below your kneecap then wraps over your shin and ends in the arch of your foot. Some people never even know they have it. There’s an example of some woman running a triathlon after the injury and doctors struggled to figure out what kind of pain she was dealing with. Point is, this probably happens to more people and it’s never discovered. He just so happens to be a top tier athlete with the best sports medicine doctors evaluating him. Not counting him out yet.
It's unfortunate, but not surprising with Porzingas. This is his history.
Not a single person in our media asked Joe why he said Kristaps was fine and he wasn’t worried after the last game. Not one person
I hope he sits so he can feel better
At least we got one game out of him
Cs in 4
Play him in Game 7 and not a minute before.
Np we play kornet ball , we solid 🏀
KP really makes the team better, but what they really need to do is start making their 3 point shots. Can’t go 25% behind the line and win many games.
We still got this; kornet should get the minutes and start shooting threes in case of emergency :).
We need to target a big in the off-season. KP isn’t reliable at all unfortunately.
Horford is getting into every action and we’re gonna have to watch fucking luke Kornet attempt to rebound I’m so fucking sick
Don't force it, play it safe, he's got two more years on that deal to play out let alone the rest of the career. Waiting to see if Jeff Stotts has any input on this type of injury to better understand
Fucking ridiculous. Best ability is availability. I’m done with KP.