Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis Talks Illness, 'It's 'Definitely A Very Frustrating Time'

Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis commented Friday night on the illness that limited him throughout Boston's playoff run this season.

Speaking to reporters after the New York Knicks eliminated the Celtics in Game 6 of their second-round series by a 119-81 score, Porziņģis talked about his illness and how he plans to recover during the offseason:

"I think my system just is not perfect right now. It's not working the way it should be. Many, many weird things. Might be the best thing I need right now is just rest, get some sun, and let system kind of even itself out. It's definitely a very, very frustrating time for me."

Porziņģis first contracted the illness in late February, and it caused him to miss eight consecutive games. At the time, the team would only describe the illness as " non-COVID," and Porziņģis said it was viral.

The mysterious illness continued to impact Porziņģis for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.

While he played a relatively normal amount of minutes during the Celtics' first-round series against the Orlando Magic, Porziņģis only reached the 20-minute mark in a game once against the Knicks.

All told, the one-time All-Star averaged only 15.5 minutes per game against New York, and his production suffered to the tune of just 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest during the series.

That was a far cry from the regular season when he put up 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Following Boston's Game 5 win over New York to stay alive in the series, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters that Porziņģis "couldn't breathe," which is why he kept him on the bench during the second half and limited him to only 12 minutes.

Porziņģis then played just 11:29 in the season-ending Game 6 loss on Friday night, registering four points and five boards.

Given that superstar forward Jayson Tatum went down with a torn Achilles during the series against the Knicks, the Celtics were already shorthanded, and barely being able to get anything out of Porziņģis undoubtedly contributed to their earlier-than-expected exit from the playoffs.

Porziņģis missed much of last season's playoff run as well due to injury, but the Celtics were able to overcome it and win a championship.

That wasn't the case this season, and now there are some major question marks facing the team entering the 2025-26 campaign, including Porziņģis' health and whether Tatum will be able to play at all coming off a torn Achilles.