NBA: Warriors' Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis may return vs. Celtics

Former Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis may make his debut with the Golden State Warriors when they host Boston on Thursday night.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he is hoping two-time MVP Stephen Curry will also be on the court. Curry, who leads Golden State with 27.2 points per game, has missed the last five games due to a sore knee.

Porzingis was acquired by the Warriors from Atlanta at the trade deadline but has not played since January 7 because of issues with his left Achilles tendon. At the time of the trade, he said Thursday’s game was his target date for returning.

“I look forward to really having a surprisingly good post All-Star break,” Porzingis said.

This season, Porzingis has played in 17 games, starting 12, and is averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game.

Porzingis played for Boston last season but was limited to 42 games due to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. The Celtics traded him to Atlanta in July, and he did not play against Boston while with the Hawks.

“He’s an easy fit,” Kerr said. “You don’t have to change a whole lot. The biggest difference he provides is post-ups. He’s a pretty good post-up player, especially against switches. You throw him the ball at the foul line, the elbows, even the low block, he can score in those spots. That was one of the things we worked on today, our spacing.”

Kerr said he wanted to watch Porzingis in a scrimmage Wednesday before deciding if he will play Thursday night.

“Kristaps has been here the last handful of days and practiced today with the team,” Kerr said. “Looked good. He’s feeling good. We won’t make a determination until after Wednesday’s practice when we scrimmage and get up and down the floor, which we didn’t do Tuesday. We did more skill work and went over some things.”

The Warriors, who lost four of their last six games before the All-Star break, are eighth in the Western Conference standings. Boston will enter Thursday’s game as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, 5½ games behind Detroit.

Speculation continues about injured forward Jayson Tatum returning for the Celtics later this season. Tatum, recovering from a torn Achilles, began practicing with some teammates this week. He had surgery in May.

“He looked like Jayson Tatum, I’ll say that much,” Ron Harper Jr. said. “We’re really excited for the potential of him coming back. We don’t know for sure, but it’s great to see him progress during his rehab.”

Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and a career-high 6.0 assists per game in 2024-25. The six-time All-Star has career averages of 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 585 NBA games.

Thursday’s matchup will be the first of two this season between the teams and is expected to feature heavy perimeter scoring. The Warriors lead the NBA in made 3-pointers (897), while Boston ranks third (831).

—Field Level Media/Reuters