Joe Mazzulla on Porzingis injury: “We’ll rely on guys who have been here”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla joined Zolak & Bertrand ahead of the Celtics Game 5 matchup against the Heat with a chance to send Miami home. It will be their first playoff game without Kristaps Porzingis, who left Game 4 with a strained calf. Mazzulla expanded on the outlook for his team in the wake of the Porzingis injury:
On how much time Kristaps Porzingis could miss
“I don’t know the specifics of it. They use a lot of fancy words, but I do know it will be re-evaluated next week. You know, we’ll see how he responds to the treatment and how much better he gets here in the first week.”
On if he knew the severity of the injury in the moment
“I could kind of tell, I mean, you never know what it is. I’m not a doctor, but I could tell that based on how he was. And I saw him trying to fight through it for a couple extra possessions. I knew it wasn’t too, too serious, but it was obviously something that was bothering him. So, appreciate that he went those couple extra possessions for us, and then luckily, we were able to kind of get him into treatment. He didn’t tell me specifically what it was. He just kind of told me he needed one. And then, it was, you know, a couple other possessions he was able to get through. And then, I kind of just took the opportunity to get him out as best we could. So, he didn’t tell me exactly what it was in that moment, but I knew, obviously, he was a little injured.”
On how they will make up for the loss of Porzingis
“Anytime one guy goes out, you can’t replace that guy. But I think the strength of this team is the core that we’ve had here for a long time, and also the depth that we’ve been able to build. I think that’s why it’s important throughout the season when you have back-to-backs from guys sitting out in different lineups, that you develop different identities and you take advantage of those. So I thought that’s been a strength of our team all year is, regardless of who’s been in, who’s been out, we’ve stepped up. We’ve, you know, found different ways to play, whether it’s from our starters or from our depth. And then you obviously rely on the guys that have been here. They’ve been here for a long time. And, you know, it’s time for them to continue to play at the level that they’ve been playing at.”
LISTEN: Joe Mazzulla on the Kristaps Porzingis injury with Zolak & Bertrand