Kristaps Porzingis hobbling off the court toward the locker room at Capital One Arena on Sunday was a sight no Boston Celtics fan wanted to see.
But head coach Joe Mazzulla is doing his best to assuage any larger concerns about his injured big man.
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Mazzulla shared an encouraging update Tuesday on Porzingis, who exited Sunday's win over the Washington Wizards with "right heel pain."
"Got a good lift in today. Got up a couple shots, getting better day-to-day," Mazzulla said of Porzingis on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand. "He's feeling better than he did at the game the other day."
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Mazzulla then confirmed Porzingis' injury has nothing to do with the leg ailment that required offseason surgery and forced Porzingis to miss time to begin the season.
"Oh no -- nothing related to the past," Mazzulla added.
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Porzingis suffered a rare left leg injury -- officially diagnosed as a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon -- in the first round of the 2024 playoffs that eventually led to surgery after the Celtics won the NBA Finals in June.
This latest injury involves Porzingis' right heel, however, so it appears there's no connection between the two. Porzingis also didn't seem concerned about his heel injury after Sunday's game.
"It's nothing major, honestly. More like a precautionary thing," Porzingis told reporters.
"In the second (quarter), when it started, it was pretty sensitive so I told the medical stuff and they just pulled me out of the game. I don't think it's anything major."
Porzingis does have an extensive injury history, but it sounds like this ailment is minor. The Celtics don't play again until Thursday -- home against the Chicago Bulls at 7:30 p.m. ET -- so it's possible he may not have to miss a single game if he continues to feel better in the coming days.
Porzingis is averaging 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over seven games since making his 2024-25 season debut in late November.
