Kristaps Porzingis is not listed on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report before their upcoming game against the Boston Celtics.
While it was previously a ‘mystery illness‘ the trade deadline acquisition was facing in his early tenure in the Bay Area, the latest Porzingis update signals that he has finally turned a corner on his health, and could finally be a consistent contributor for the Warriors in the final stretch of the regular season.
Porzingis is coming off a 30-point game against the Washington Wizards, his highest-scoring burst for Golden State out of his five games with the team.
Warriors Get New Kristaps Porzingis Update
GettyKristaps Porzingis #7 of the Golden State Warriors
As Porzingis is not listed on the injury report, he went through warmups for the team’s game against the Celtics on Wednesday night.
According to team insider Anthony Slater of ESPN, the Latvian center believes that the mystery illness and his overall health concerns over the past month won’t be an issue moving forward.
“Kristaps Porzingis reiterated after shootaround in Boston this morning that he’s ‘feeling like myself‘ again and his health is on a positive trajectory,” Slater wrote in a post on X. “He’s scored 17, 20, 30 in 20, 22, 26 minutes his last three games. Cleared to play at Celtics tonight.”
Previously, Porzingis, for whom the Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield at the deadline, had played in just three games in his first five weeks with his new team. However, he’s since been available for their last two and has ramped up his production, finally looking like the exact player Golden State hoped for when they made the move for him.
This isn’t the first time the big man has claimed he’s turned a corner on his health, as after a recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he said he finally feels healthy.
“I felt like my body is coming back to what it needs to be,” Porzingis said, per Slater on March 8. “I believe I will be healthy now. This is what I really feel. Not to sell anything because I’ve been in and out, out again. But this time, I really feel this is it.”
While he has been healthy enough to play a few games in a row, Warriors fans shouldn’t expect Porzingis to stay off the team’s injury report for an extended period, as he hasn’t played more than 65 games in a season in over a decade.
Still, the fact that he has no injury or illness designation now comes as a good sign for Golden State at this point in the season.
Warriors Injury Report Vs Celtics
Again, no Porzingis on the injury report is good news for the Warriors. However, while he was a mainstay on that list for his first month with the team, that doesn’t mean the franchise is anywhere close to having a clean bill of health.
Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Seth Curry, Al Horford, Gary Payton, Quinten Post, LJ Cryer, and Moses Moody are all listed on the injury report for their game against the Celtics.
Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton, and Porzingis will be available and will each likely have big roles to play for the Boston matchup.
But what remains most important for Golden State at this point in the season is that Curry comes back soon. The latest injury updates from head coach Steve Kerr and other team insiders point to the fact that he is ramping up to return, but it will be at least a few more days until he is re-evaluated and can be cleared to get back on the court for the team.
The Warriors are 33-35 and 10th in the West standings, look destined for another Play-In Tournament appearance, but are hoping that with Curry eventually back, they can make some noise in the postseason.
Warriors Get Great News On Kristaps Porzingis Before Game vs Celtics