Celtics Mailbag: Porzingis nearing return, scouting the Cavs and more

In the midst of a rare break early in the 2024-25 regular season -- just one game in five nights -- the Boston Celtics delivered a surprise jolt of off-day news with word that Kristaps Porzingis has progressed to the next phase of his injury rehab.

Porzingis worked out with the Maine Celtics at the Auerbach Center on Monday, and the team said he would "continue to ramp up his workload” after being recalled from that G-League assignment immediately after. The big question, and one that quickly became the most popular when we ripped open this week’s Celtics Mailbag, was when Porzingis might make his season debut.

All indications are that Porzingis has been tracking on an optimistic timeline. He’s engaged in pregame workouts that now look even more rigorous than some of the sessions before his playoff return. Porzingis has been traveling with the team, something that players with longer timelines tend to avoid.

Then there’s this: We asked Porzingis in late September whether the team’s success, coupled with the obvious goal of winning another title, might make it easier for him to embrace a slower comeback, to exercise extreme caution before his return. He dismissed the notion.

"For me, it's tough because I want to be back out there as soon as possible, you know? And it's more like, whenever I get the green light, I'll be out there,” said Porzingis. “It’s good knowing that you have teammates that have your back, that you can trust that no matter who's going to be out there on the floor, that are going to give their all.”

Porzingis underwent surgery on June 27 to repair the torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. The Celtics suggested a “return to play in 5-6 months,” which put him on target to return some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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The other question here is whether we’ll get another WWE-style walkout if his season debut coincides with a Celtics home game. When Porzingis made his way from the locker room to the TD Garden floor before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Jumbotron video of him walking out nearly reduced the arena to rubble. 

Porzingis said he hadn’t thought about that moment yet, but it might start rolling around in his head real soon.

“[The Finals walkout] was insane. It was goosebumps. Walking out, I did not know it was for me, because I didn't know that we were going to play it live,” said Porzingis. "But I had a funny feeling, you know? And then, as I walked out and I heard the crowd roar, it was insane, insane. Like, whatever pain I had, it was gone because of the adrenaline and that incredible feeling that I got from the fans.”

Let’s dive into some more of your questions about these 11-3 Celtics as we wait for Tuesday night’s NBA Cup showdown with the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers: 

Thoughts on the Cavs, and how much do you think the Celtics value being the 1 seed? Do you think they will kick it into high gear to try and get it, assuming Cleveland keeps it up, or just live with where they end up? -- @MattKlayman_15 on X

The numbers don’t lie with the Cavaliers. They have the best offense in the league (122.1 offensive rating, one spot ahead of Celtics) and the seventh-best defense (110.7 defensive rating, two spots ahead of Boston). Their +11.5 net rating is second only to Oklahoma City.

We’ve watched a bunch of their games on League Pass and marvel at how they’ve gotten contributions from all their top guys late in games. In the past, it felt like Donovan Mitchell had to carry a young team in those spots. Now Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are all making big plays on both ends of the court. Add in Kenny Atkinson taking over on the bench and everything is clicking in Northeast Ohio. 

Being the No. 1 seed certainly worked out fine for Boston last season. But head coach Joe Mazzulla did admit after his first season that he might have tried a bit too hard to get that top spot, and that it might have been counterproductive during the 2022-23 season.

I think the team will prioritize health and performance more than, say, overexerting to simply sit atop the East standings. If the Cavs maintain even a .700 winning percentage the rest of the way, that would slot them around 62 wins. The Celtics are on a 64-win pace at the moment. Let’s table the seeding question until the All-Star break.

Mazzulla has on-brand answer to how he interacts with rival coaches

With Xavier Tillman seemingly out of the rotation because of Neemias Queta’s emergence, do the C’s move him and try to bring back Lonnie Walker, or a similar wing player who can score and defend? -- @cgessner on X

I’d be lying if I said I thought Tillman’s role would be this limited through the first month of the season. Getting Porzingis back might make it even tougher for him to see consistent time.

But we have to remember how fast things change in the NBA. The season is ridiculously long. There is going to be a stretch very soon where Tillman will get every opportunity to show how he can impact winning.

If you'll recall, Tillman's time was limited for much of the end of last season, but Mazzulla still had the confidence to put him in some key spots, including in the NBA Finals. Tillman’s versatility -- along with this bargain-bin price tag -- should make him way more valuable than anyone currently on the free-agent market.

Is there any chance or way that we could stay within the cap and trade to re-acquire Robert Williams... what would we have to give up. — @WhobutWB on X

Do you know how much discipline it took for me to NOT make this the first question in this week’s mailbag? Do you know how many hours I’ve spent trying to scheme a trade scenario to reacquire Time Lord?

The reality is that, with Williams making $12.4 million this season, there’s no real pathway to a deal given the second-apron restraints on the Celtics.

Boston cannot aggregate contracts in trades, meaning you can’t combine, say, Al Horford ($9.5 million) and Jaden Springer ($4 million) to acquire Robert Williams. The only pathway is trading a player who makes more than Williams’ salary, and that would require moving someone from Boston’s preferred starting five.

For now, we’ll have to settle for watching Blazers games on League Pass (while hoping no East contender makes a trade to acquire him).