Tag: Kristaps Porzingis

Six Boston Celtics make Bleacher Report’s 2023-24 top 100 list

Let’s dive into which players, and where they were ranked.

Who are the top 100 players in the NBA for the looming 2023-24 season? We have officially hit the part of the league calendar that might as well be called ranking season given the tendency for the last few weeks of the Association’s offseason to see a massive proliferation of efforts to rank the NBA’s top players for the season about to arrive.

And such is the case with the folks behind Bleacher Report’s “Top 100 Players for (the) 2023-24 season” article recently published by the outlet’s NBA staff, with a solid number of Boston Celtics among the Association’s best players as assessed in the exercise.

Let’s dive into which players, and where they were ranked.

Boston’s bigs come in at Nos. 27, 12 overall in new Bleacher Report analysis

The Celtics are fairly capable in their frontcourt, with two of the league’s top 30 big men in Bleacher Report’s assessment of the league’s best bigs.

The Boston Celtics might have the best 1-2 punch of star wings of any team in the NBA, a point underlined by a recent ranking exercise of wings in the league by Bleacher Report that has Boston’s All-NBA forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown Nos. 1 and 7 respectively in terms of wing stars.

The Celtics are also fairly capable in their frontcourt, with two of the league’s top 30 big men in Bleacher Report’s assessment of the league’s best bigs, but they are not quite so talented in the frontcourt as they are on the wing with both of their players coming in outside of the top 10 bigs in the Association coming into the league’s 2023-24 season.

Let’s take a look at which Boston bigs landed where.

Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis on why he traveled with the Latvian National Team to the 2023 FIBA World Cup

Porzingis is actively engaged in day-to-day team activities and aims to provide insights on NBA players to help the team.

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Star Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis was slated to play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup for the Latvian National Team before a foot injury sidelined him. He explained his decision to travel with Latvia to the World Cup even though he will not play.

The 7-foot-3 center expressed his desire to support his national team, spend time with Latvian teammates and be close to his family. Despite not participating, Porzingis is actively engaged in day-to-day team activities and aims to provide insights on NBA players to help the team, drawing from his experiences in the league and emphasizing positive energy for the upcoming games.

To hear more from the man himself via a talk with the folks at Eurohoops, check out the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics president Brad Stevens on trading Marcus Smart, Kristaps Porzingis’ health

Stevens addressed the team’s roster changes, highlighting the need to balance positions and the growth of young players like Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

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Brad Stevens, the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, recently spoke about trading veteran point guard Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2023 offseason and provided updates on the health and future availability of star big man Kristaps Porzingis during a broadcast of the 21st annual WEEI Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.

Stevens addressed the team’s roster changes, highlighting the need to balance positions and the growth of young players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics president also discussed his involvement with the Jimmy Fund and how it’s a vital part of Boston’s community, touched on the role of athletes like Smart in the community, and mentioned the challenge of replacing such players in the pursuit of an NBA title.

To hear the talk in full for yourself, check out the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics wanted Kristaps Porzingis to return to Boston after injury

The Celtics reportedly wanted Porzingis to return to the team facility to rehab his foot injury but gave him permission to stay in Asia after he asked to remain.

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Boston Celtics star big man Kristaps Porzingis stayed with the Latvian National Team despite being ruled out for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The Celtics reportedly wanted Porzingis to return to the team facility to rehab his foot injury but gave him permission to stay in Asia after he asked to remain.

Porzingis told reporters he expects to be ready for the NBA season and blamed inflammation for knocking him out of the World Cup. Latvian head coach Luca Banchi recently told the media that he was frustrated after hope remained within days of the tournament of Porzingis playing for his national team.

CLNS Media reporter Bobby Manning reacts to Porzingis staying at the World Cup and Latvia advancing to the second group stage with a win over France in the latest episode of the “Garden Report” podcast.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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12 Boston Celtics included in HoopsHype ‘best player in country history’ list

Let’s take a look at which Boston alumni made the cut — and what countries they hail from.

The Boston Celtics are a founding member and the most storied ball club of the league now known as the NBA, having been among the handful of teams from the era of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) days as the precursor league that would grow into today’s NBA was called.

So it should not surprise that the players who have worn the green and white over the nearly eight decades of existence of the franchise have at times been among the best to play the game anywhere in the world. In fact, there is a notable number of Celtics alumni present in a HoopsHype assessment of the best players to come from specific countries around the globe.

Let’s take a look at which Boston alumni made the cut — and what countries they hail from.

Celtics president Brad Stevens says Kristaps Porzingis’ plantar fasciitis ‘isn’t what I would call a significant injury’

“This is something that we should be able to navigate and manage in the next few weeks and be ready for training camp,” said Stevens.

After being ruled out of the 2023 FIBA World Cup for the Latvian National Team due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, star Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis has sparked concern among Celtics fans given his past injury history. Team President Brad Stevens made an appearance on WEEI’s “Jones and Mego” show to talk about why he believes that injury is not a major concern for Boston despite Porzingis’ past.

“I’m not concerned about that,” said Stevens via Boston Dot Com‘s Conor Ryan. “He’s at the FIBA Tournament with the team, so he’s doing his rehab there.”

“Our training staff was with him as he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis,” said the Celtics President. “He went through all the progressions and he really tried to ramp up and play. He just determined he didn’t want to deal with lingering effects down the road.”

“This is something that we should be able to navigate and manage in the next few weeks and be ready for training camp. We’re planning on having him for Day 1 of training camp. He really wanted to try the ramp-up because it really mattered to be there (with his national team).”

“If you manage it, if you treat it correctly and you ramp back up at the right rate, it has a lot less chance of being a lingering issue. This isn’t what I would call a significant injury that you are concerned about the big picture.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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10 international stars (including Jamal Murray) no longer participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup

MVP winners like Giannis and Jokic will be missed.

While there are a lot of great players who are representing their countries in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, several important players can’t make out.

Of course, for whatever reason, it’s not exactly uncommon for American stars like LeBron James to skip out on FIBA World Cup action. During the last tournament, only four Americans who made the NBA All-Star team were on the roster.

But it is a bit more unusual for an international star to not suit up during the tournament, so we decided to look at the most notable players who aren’t able to make it.

Players like Australia’s Ben Simmons (who hasn’t played for his national team in over a decade) were excluded from this list.

Joel Embiid, who has citizenship in France and the United States as well as Cameroon, was also not included because he has not played on the FIBA circuit.

Meanwhile, here are the other players who won’t be rostered when the tournament begins on August 25.

Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis opens up about his injury, World Cup

“I have an idea where the injury occurred,” explained Porzingis.

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Star Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis recently chose to sit out for his Latvian National Team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup due to a bout of plantar fasciitis and in a recent interview with Sporta Studija via Eurohoops, Porzingis shed some light on how the situation came about.

“I have an idea where the injury occurred,” explained Porzingis. “But an injury develops during a career and then jumps onto the field. During the training process, it started to hurt. There has never been anything like it. I felt that there were no options to achieve the shape I wanted.”

“There was no logic in trying to break my feet,” added the Boston bog man, alluding to his choice not to push his luck by playing for Latvia. Still, Porzingis plans to remain with his national team while they play in the ’23 World Cup.

“I said being around is important, even though I’m not playing,” he explained. “They supported my decision.”

“Also, there’s a long season ahead. It’s important for me to spend time with my teammates, with my family, and Boston respected my decision.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Should the Boston Celtics be worried about Kristaps Porzingis’ health?

While plantar fasciitis is manageable, it’s not something that completely heals, potentially affecting his performance in the future.

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The Boston Celtics need to manage the workload of star big man acquisition Kristaps Porzingis over the course of the 2023-24 NBA season. How will they manage his playing time to maximize his overall contribution in light of the injury that is keeping the Latvian center out of 2023 FIBA World Cup play.

While plantar fasciitis is manageable, it’s not something that completely heals. So it will potentially affect his future performance as well. However, it’s worth noting that discovering the issue before the season is beneficial for his long-term health. The goal remains winning a championship with Porzingis having required a serious shake-up of the team’s core to bring on.

Should the Boston Celtics be worried about Porzingis’ health?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Beat” podcast were recently joined by guest Brian Barrett of the “Off the Pike” podcast. Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their thoughts on the Unicorn’s health.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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