Celtics

Porzingis has been out with a calf strain injury since late April.

As the Celtics prepare for the start of the NBA Finals, it appears that one of the team’s most important players will be returning from injury at the perfect time.

Kristaps Porzingis, who has been out of Boston’s lineup since late April with a right soleus strain suffered in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Miami Heat, is reportedly ready to play when the NBA Finals matchup between the Celtics and Mavericks gets underway.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, Porzingis “has completed multiple scrimmages in recent days and is expected to return to action for Game 1 of the NBA Finals vs. Dallas on Thursday night barring setback.”

Porzingis, 28, has been working his way back into team activities recently, taking part in a growing number of practices at increasing intensity.

“He did everything the team did. We’ll go significantly harder [Sunday],” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters on Saturday. “Today was moderate but he went through everything that the team did today.”

Exactly what Porzingis’s role will be, and how many minutes Mazzulla decides to give him, remains to be seen (and will inevitably be determined by how the Latvian responds to actual NBA game situations).

But as former Celtic Paul Pierce recently explained during a discussion of the upcoming finals matchup, Porzingis may not necessarily even need to be at his best to have a series-altering role.

“I think for him, the beauty about him is he doesn’t have to be the best player,” Pierce said of Porzingis during an episode of the “Ticket & The Truth” podcast. “Just his presence alone on the defensive end, with his height and his athleticism to block shots, his shooting ability. That’s a presence that makes this offense unlock even more.

“I know he’s not going to be fully 100% [healthy],” Pierce added. “His presence is everything to unlock that offense and defense.”

One factor that could suite Porzingis is the extended time between games during the finals. Other than the two-day gap between Games 3 and 4, each of the finals clashes will be separated by three days of rest.