The Boston Celtics will face the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday evening. However, the Celtics may be without one of their key players, Kristaps Porzingis, who is currently listed as questionable due to a left posterior tibialis dislocation. Porzingis has missed the previous two games and if he doesn’t play, it would be his third consecutive absence.
Porzingis had an impressive performance during the regular season, averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game. The Celtics finished as the first seed in the Eastern Conference with the best record in the NBA at 64-18. Despite holding a 3-1 lead in the series, the Celtics are coming off a tough loss in Game 4 where they struggled with their shooting and only managed to make 36.3% of their attempts.
If Porzingis can play in Game 5 and perform well, it could give the Celtics a boost to win their first NBA Championship since the 2008 season. However, if Porzingis is unable to go and misses his third consecutive game, it could put pressure on other players to step up and perform well for Boston. If Porzingis does not play again in this series, it could mark his shortest tenure with any team as he played for five seasons with the Knicks before being traded to Boston last year
