Celtics Rumors: 'Optimism' Kristaps Porziņģis Will Return from Calf Injury This Week

The Boston Celtics have "optimism" about Kristaps Porziņģis' availability this week after missing three straight games, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Monday will mark his fourth absence due to a left calf strain as Boston plays the Indiana Pacers in the quarterfinals of the NBA's In-Season Tournament. Wojnarowski reported "there's increasing confidence he'll be back" in time for the semifinals, which tip off Thursday should Boston advance.

Porziņģis is still adjusting to his role with the Celtics, one that's seeing him on pace to set a career low in usage rate (22.3 percent) and his second-highest three-point attempt rate (41.3 percent), per Basketball Reference.

Through 15 games, he's averaging 18.9 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 54.7 percent overall and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc.

His shooting in particular has dipped since a knee contusion sidelined him for a 117-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 15. In the five contests between that and when he picked up his calf strain, he went 4-of-25 on threes.

The Celtics are tied for the NBA's best record (15-4) and rank first in net rating (plus-9.5), per NBA.com. They're 4-0 so far with Porziņģis out of the lineup.

For now, Boston can weather his continued absence, and getting him in time for the In-Season Tournament semis would be a nice bonus.

The larger concern is that his knee trouble on top of the calf strain foreshadows a continuation of a trend extending throughout his career. He hasn't logged 70-plus appearances since his rookie year in 2015-16 and only three times has he surpassed a 60-game threshold.