The Celtics GM provides unexpected clarity about Kristaps Porzingis’ early return

Boston Celtics starting center Kristaps Porzingis made a surprising early return from offseason leg surgery as he routed the LA Clippers 126-94 on Monday.

During an interview with NBC Sports Boston (transcribed by Zach Cox of the Boston Herald), Celtics team president Brad Stevens said he, too, was surprised at how quickly the veteran big man was able to return to the hardwood. All told, he only missed the first 17 games of the season for the Celtics.

Boston survived — and, damn it, thrived — without its overwhelming big-man superstar. 38-year-old former five-time All-Star Al Horford appeared in Porzingis’ place for 14 contests but was sidelined by a recent illness. While starting for Porzingis, he averaged 10.1 points on .495/.446/1,000 shooting splits, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks. Boston took a 14-3 lead without Porzingis.

“I don’t think we realized (how quickly he was going to be back) until we actually got to camp and then you started watching him work,” Stevens said. “Then when we saw him in Abu Dhabi, the way he moved and the way he felt was a pretty good sign that he was going to be at the front end of that timeline.”

In his first game of the season, the 7-foot-2 former All-Star scored 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting from distance (1 of 6 from long range) and 3 of 4 shooting from the charity stripe, grabbing six rebounds, blocking two shots, handed out a few dimes and grabbed a steal.

“First of all, you have to ramp back up,” Stevens said of Porzingis’ recovery. “You have to go through every step of rehab, then you have to get yourself fit again to be able to play even a seven- or eight-minute stretch like he did (at the start of Monday’s game). That’s pretty far-fetched for a guy who’s a first-timer.

In anticipation of a comeback, Porzingis completed a few workouts last week with Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.

“But he did a lot. “We transferred him to Maine last week,” Stevens said. We actually took the Maine team to practice. So last Monday he played 32 minutes. On Thursday in DC, he played 32 minutes again… in scrimmaging. And we knew he would be back for the last week or so (Monday).

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