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[Saba Sports News] Kristaps Porzingis is clearly not himself right now, and a new report has only heightened concern about his condition.
Appearing Friday on The Pat McAfee Show, Shams Charania of ESPN revealed that the Boston Celtics big man is still dealing with lingering effects from a virus he contracted in March.
“My understanding is he’s been dealing with lingering side effects from the virus that he had in March,” said Charania. “It’s something that has zapped his energy. It’s drained him. He has had to rely on getting a lot more sleep over the last couple months. He’s had to take IVs \[and] immune boosters.”
Although Porzingis missed five games late in the regular season, he’s played in all seven of Boston’s playoff games so far. However, his conditioning appears well below his usual level.
Through the first two games of the Celtics’ second-round series against the Knicks, he’s averaging just 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds on 33.3% shooting.
The 29-year-old exited at halftime during Boston’s Game 1 loss and came off the bench in Game 2, forcing the Celtics to lean heavily on 38-year-old Al Horford and seldom-used Luke Kornet for frontcourt support.
Porzingis also raised eyebrows with puzzling comments after Boston fell behind 0-2 in the series. But his underwhelming on-court impact seems directly tied to the lingering aftereffects of his illness, which continue to hamper his energy and performance.