BOSTON - Kristaps Porzingis says he doesn’t know what to expect when he suits up for Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night. Coming off a calf injury that’s sidelined him the past five weeks, Porzingis has met with the media twice in back-to-back days, and hasn’t exactly quieted fears about his health. While he says he’s “feeling good,” he won’t say if he’s 100 percent heading into tonight’s tip-off against the Dallas Mavericks.
Porzingis was taken off the injury report, and yet, still sounds a bit hesitant. Of course, given what’s at stake, Porzingis might be employing a little gamesmanship. Maybe he’s intentionally messing with the Mavs.
Maybe he’s underplaying his readiness before hitting Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving et al with a lights out performance. Or, his hesitancy is valid and he legitimately doesn’t know what to expect. Maybe every stride on the floor will be a test, so he’s trying to lower expectations.
“I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there’s nothing like game minutes and game experience that I’m going to get,” Porzingis said Wednesday after confirming that he would in fact be playing. “It will be tough to jump into the Finals like this. I did everything I could to prepare for it and we’ll see tomorrow night.
” Again, it’s hard to know what to make of that. He struck a similar tone during his presser the day before. Is he being coy, and guarded on purpose? Or should everyone have an eyebrow raised .
