The Boston Celtics got some concerning injury news on Monday afternoon. Two starters, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis, are in danger of missing Monday’s road date with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Let’s look at the most recent Kristaps Porzingis injury updates as we assess whether he will be playing in Monday night’s contest. If you’re hungry for more action, check out our NBA player prop bets, our NBA betting tools or our NBA betting promos!
Kristaps Porzingis Injury Update: Is Boston’s Star Playing Tonight?
Kristaps Porzingis Injury Update
The oft-injured Kristaps Porzingis may finally miss his first game for the Boston Celtics. The superstar center picked up a questionable tag after avoiding the team’s initial injury report due to an eye stye, or a red, painful bump on the edge of the eyelid. Porzingis hasn’t dealt with a similar injury before, so it’s unclear how the issue will affect his performance — or if it’ll keep him off the floor.
Porzingis has often dealt with injuries, and he could be held out of tonight’s contest in an effort to keep him fresh. He is averaging only 29.8 minutes per game for Boston thus far, down from the 32.6 he averaged last year in Washington, but time will tell how the Celtics choose to conserve their superstar big. Porzingis has not started more than 65 games in a season since his ACL tear in 2018.
Is Kristaps Porzingis Playing for Boston Tonight?
So is Kristaps Porzingis playing tonight? It’s tough to tell. The fact he appeared on the injury report so late is one complication, as is the fact we’ve seen almost no reporting about his status aside from Boston’s injury report. The betting market hasn’t reacted all that strongly to the White and Porzingis news — the Celtics have shifted from a 4.5-point favorite at bet365 to a 2.5-point favorite, which isn’t all that meaningful.
If Porzingis can’t go, the Celtics don’t have much depth behind him at center. Veteran Al Horford can provide plenty of quality minutes, but behind him, it’s pretty much just Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta (who has already been ruled out) and Lamar Stevens. No other player has logged a minute at the five for Boston this year. That may not prove quite so disadvantageous against a Timberwolves lineup that features both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns in the starting lineup, however.
I don’t have any inside information about Porzingis’ status, but I recommend backing the Celtics regardless of his status. You can either pounce on them now at 2.5 — which would likely tick back up to 3.5 or so if he gets ruled in — or wait to see if he gets ruled out, in which case the game would likely close as a pick’em. A size disadvantage may hurt on the boards, but the Gobert-Towns pairing is inefficient, especially against a small-ball lineup, so I trust the Celtics in this spot. If you’re new to bet365, make sure to check out our bet365 bonus code for up to $1,000 in bonus bets!
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