Kristaps Porziņģis set to make long-awaited season debut against Clippers for the Celtics

The Boston Celtics have listed center Kristaps Porziņģis as probable for tonight's matchup against the LA Clippers at 7:30 p.m. ET, available for viewing on NBA League Pass.

Porziņģis was expected to miss five to six months haver having surgery in June to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. The former All-Star had the surgery on June 27 and, less than five months later, will be back in Boston’s lineup.

Porziņģis suffered his injury in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and had hoped to delay the surgery until after the Finals and Latvia’s Olympic campaign. He wound up missing the 2024 Olympics but has been working to recover for the 2024-25 season.

His last game was in Game 5 of the NBA Finals when he logged 16 minutes, scoring five points and collecting one rebound in Boston’s 106-88 win that clinched the Celtics’ 18th NBA title. Porzingis missed Game 3 with a dislocated tendon in his left ankle. He was cleared to play a limited role in Game 4, but never took off his warmups during Boston’s 122-84 loss in Dallas.

Last season, Porziņģis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 51.6% overall and 37.5% on 3-pointers in 57 games. Porzingis played in the Celtics’ first four playoff games of 2024, but then suffered a right calf injury that kept him sidelined until Game 1 of the the NBA Finals.

The Celtics are No. 2 in the Eastern Conference (14-3) and are 2 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for No. 1.

Boston has played just three games (the fewest in the league) against the 14 teams that currently have winning records, though it is responsible for the Minnesota Timberwolves (9-8 prior to Sunday) losing their spot in that group. The Celtics will face the 11-7 Clippers and 17-1 Cavs this week, with those also being just their third and fourth games against teams that currently rank in the top 10 defensively.

Information from The Associated Press and NBA.com’s John Schuhmann was used in this report.