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Kristaps Porzingis is back. And that goes for the championship-caliber Celtics, too.

Porzingis’ surprise return lived up to the hype in every way. From a goosebump-inducing strike from the Celtics’ locker room, to the expectant rumble at TD Garden as Porzingis emerged from the tunnel, to the loud roar as the 6-foot-7 man threw his arm skyward to the crowd to thank.

With one final sip of his double espresso, Porzingis walked onto the floor and immediately helped the Celtics make it clear to the rest of the league that this team truly is the favorite to repeat as NBA champions.

It feels strange to say that on a team full of talent — including All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and the All-Defense tandem of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday — Porzingis is the most important piece. Maybe it’s better to assume he’s more like the final infinity stone, the one piece that transforms the Celtics from something great into something that often feels untouchable.

The numbers suggest the Celtics will do just fine without Porzingis. Boston has a .833 winning percentage in the regular season when Porzingis was sidelined (35-7 last season including playoffs; 14-3 this year). That mark actually drops to .758 when he’s on the field, having compiled a 44-14 record with him in the lineup.

But the eye test tells a different story.

The Celtics are simply a different beast with Porzingis on the court, from the rim protection that seemingly unleashes a different level of defensive aggression to his offensive versatility that makes defending a historic Boston offense even more difficult.

Consider this: Boston ranked 24th in the NBA allowing opponents to shoot 65.6 percent from within five feet in its 17 games this season without Porzingis. In Porzingis’ debut against the Clippers, that number dropped to 51.5 percent. With Porzingis on defense, Boston can play more, and that translated into 21 total steals and blocks, the second-highest stock output of the season for Boston (22 stocks in a 30-point win over the Hawks).

When the Celtics scored 51 points in the second quarter and tied an NBA record with 12 3-pointers, you could feel the air coming out of a Clippers team that had won five straight and one this season of the best defenses in the NBA. Even with Porzingis on the bench, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser took turns peppering the Clippers with triples in a quarter that brought back many memories of Boston’s dominance a season ago.

The final result was a 126-94 win over the Clippers in Porzingis’ return. The actual result was a clear message to the rest of the league that the Celtics are also back at championship level.

Not that they ever really left. Boston had a 14-3 record, including a decisive win last week over the previously undefeated and Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Celtics didn’t look quite like the team that overwhelmed opponents for much of last season and then cruised to a 16-3 record in the postseason.

Porzingis huffed and puffed early but showed less rust than one might imagine after five months of rehab from ankle surgery. He finished the game with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting (he was 5 of 6 from inside), along with six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal over 22:37.

There’s just a joy that permeates this team when Porzingis is on the court. The Celtics aren’t averse to having fun regardless of player availability, but from Derrick White checking his bags for 3 seconds after his fifth trifecta of the night to Al Horford yelling, “Pritch please!” after Pritchard makes one of his After making six triples, the Celtics wore Porzingis’ permanent grin throughout Monday’s game.

With Porzingis back in the lineup, the Celtics exuded a familiar machismo.

It won’t always look as good as it does in this dominant second image. The start of the third quarter showed that Boston is still quite capable of losing focus for an insanely long time. But the Celtics recovered and broke the game open again.

If the rest of the NBA was hoping the Celtics could fall victim to a championship hangover, Porzingis’ return might just be Boston’s IV therapy. After returning virtually the same roster from a season ago, the Celtics were always a threat to repeat. Their game Monday night was a reminder that the gap between them and other contenders may still be a chasm.

It’s hard to watch this team and not wonder how an opponent can beat them four times in a seven-game series. There’s just too much talent. Boston needs to stay healthy — with Porzingis at the top of the list of stayers — but his return gives the team a jolt at a point in the calendar where it would be easy to daydream.

Porzingis’ return hit like his beloved double espresso on Monday night. The Celtics felt healthy again, even if they were playing without the backup big man combination of Horford and Luke Kornet.

There are still many steps to get back to where they want to be. But getting Porzingis back was a big challenge. And it certainly feels like these Celtics are still many steps ahead of the competition as the NBA calendar begins.

On By Oliver Sinclair

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