Everything Kristaps Porzingis said about his “serious” injury ahead of Game 3

DALLAS — While Kristaps Porzingis was optimistic after Game 2 of the NBA Finals, circumstances have changed regarding his injury status. The team announced Tuesday that Porzingis suffered a “rare” injury, which “C” described as “a tear in the medial retinaculum that allowed the tibialis posterior tendon to dislocate in his left leg.”

C’s coach Joe Mazzulla also called it a “serious injury” ahead of Game 3, which takes place Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in Dallas. There are therefore clear doubts regarding Porzingis’ continued status. The Celtics are leading the series 2-0 over the Mavericks in the finals, so they have some room to maneuver. However, Porzingis’ health will be a question mark for the rest of the series on what the big man called “day-to-day.”

Here’s everything Porzingis had to say about the injury before Tuesday’s C practice:

About what happened…

“The tweet we posted was quite explanatory. It’s a bit of a random situation, yes, and I felt something. Now I have to deal with it. As we said, I will observe every day how I feel tomorrow. Of course, I will do everything in my power to be on the pitch tomorrow. And we will see.”

If he’s optimistic…

“I am. Yes, I have to be. I am optimistic. As I said, I will do everything in my power to be on the pitch tomorrow. We’ll see.”

About what he will have to endure if he plays…

“I do not know the details. I leave it to the medical staff who will decide whether I can go or not. From my side, as I said, nothing will stop me unless I am told not to play or not allowed to play. That’s the only reason I’ll be there.”

If these injuries stick in his head…

“NO. I don’t care. I’ve been through things in my career. Of course it’s a difficult patch that comes back and something happens right away. It’s difficult. It’s a difficult moment right now. But I feel pretty good. My mind is good. We’ll see tomorrow.”

On whether he has already struggled with this injury…

“NO. I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know. It was kind of a random thing. It was like I was limping or something earlier. I was fine, then it happened. I don’t think it was anything related. And I didn’t either I know. The medical staff would know better. It is what it is.”

On whether he’s still going to die on the court…

“Yes, I live by these words. Of course, of course.

On whether he will still die on the court…

– I mean, I hope not. But I think when it comes down to it, it’s to win.

About when it happened…

“Yes, it was about the rebound from the free-throw line. I just pushed (Dereck) Lively in the back, our knees hit and something happened. But then I continued playing for a while. Of course, my movement got a bit disrupted towards the end. So Joe took me.

On how he copes mentally after the injury…

“I don’t know. I don’t have time to think about it too much. Obviously it’s not an ideal situation. But who cares. I’m here to be a soldier and try to help this team win. I don’t know, it’s not something I think about too much.” I think.

About what he can do to come back after injury…

“Just a lot of healing throughout the day. Treatment and compliance with the recommendations of medical staff. And that’s all I can do now. We still have some time and we will see how I will be tomorrow and after how I behave.”

From the conversations he had with coaches and medical staff…

“Yes, no, let me play. Let’s get treatment. But of course I can’t trick them into letting me play. But I will try.”