Every team in the NBA has something they need to work on, and the Boston Celtics are no exception. With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz came up with one tough question for every ball club in the league, and for the Celtics, it’s the fact that trading for star big man Kristaps Porzingis raises concerns about his injury history and potential impact on the team.
“Losing one of the prominent locker room voices and premier defenders in (Marcus) Smart hurts enough, but this is more of a gamble on Porzingis’ ability to stay healthy (…),” opines the B/R analyst. “His skills at a 7’3″ floor-spacer, rim protector, and back-to-the-basket threat are great in theory, but don’t do much good if Porzingis once again struggles to stay on the floor.”
“If the Celtics get the version of Porzingis we saw last season in Washington, great. If not, this will have been a massive miss for the front office.”
With the Latvian big man already planning to sit out the 2023 FIBA World Cup due to a bout of plantar fasciitis, it’s very understandable to be concerned about such a scenario playing out.
With risk can come reward — but not without the most important of all NBA abilities, the pesky need for player avail-ability.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire