NBA Rumors: 'All Signs Point to' Celtics' Kristaps Porziņģis Playing G1 After Injury

"All signs point to" Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis returning to the team for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

ESPN's Sebastian Christensen reported the latest on SportsCenter on Saturday (1:30 mark).

Porziņģis suffered a right soleus strain (calf) in Game 4 of the Celtics' first-round series against the Miami Heat on April 29 and has been out since.

On Friday, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla reported some good news to the media, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

"He's getting better," Mazzulla said. "He's out there shooting. Went through a couple of drills in practice. So, progressing well and kind of confident where he's at right now."

Porziņģis has posted 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks this regular season.

Without Porziņģis, the Celtics have turned to Al Horford starting at the 5, with Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman also seeing more minutes.

Boston has managed to cruise through the playoffs even without Porziņģis for most of them, but the Dallas Mavericks present a unique challenge in the NBA Finals, which start Thursday.

Dallas has gotten great play at the 5 from Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. The two big men have been dominant on both ends, with the latter player, a rookie, notably hitting all 16 of his shots in the Western Conference Finals.

Simply put, the Celtics need Porziņģis to help combat that size. Boston already has its hands full with the backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but Gafford and Lively could absolutely be the X-factors here. Adding KP back into the mix, though, presents the Mavs with their own problem.

Boston then has three scorers who can post 20 or more a game alongside Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and KP's length and height could help neutralize Gafford and Lively's prowess.

Ultimately, Porziņģis hasn't been given the green light just yet, but all signs point to him being ready to go soon enough.