Celtics provide loose timeline for Kristaps Porzingis' rehab and potential return

BOSTON -- It was pretty obvious that Kristaps Porzingis was about to miss a good chunk time for the Celtics after the big man limped off the court Monday night in Miami. Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla gave a bit of a timeline on Wednesday, confirming that Porzingis will be sidelined for at least a week with his calf strain.

His absence will likely last longer than that, as Mazzulla told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand that the team will reevaluate Porzingis next week and then go from there. 

"I don't know the specifics of it; they use a lot of fancy words. But I do know it will be re-evaluated next week," Mazzulla said during his radio interview. "We'll see how he responds to the treatment and how much better he gets here in the first week. That's kind of the goal, to rehab it like crazy over the next week and see where we're at from there."

NBA on TNT's Chris Haynes reported Wednesday night that the Celtics are hoping that Porzingis can return for the Eastern Conference Finals should Boston advance, which is two weeks away. Given Porzingis' reaction after the injury -- pulling his jersey over his face as he made his way to the Boston locker room -- returning in a few weeks is the best-case scenario for him and the Celtics.

But that also means that the Celtics are going to have to play their second-round playoff series without the floor-stretching big. Boston advanced Wednesday night with a Game 5 blowout victory over the Heat to take their opening-round series, 4-1, and will now play either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Orlando Magic. Cleveland owns a 3-2 lead in that series, with Game 6 set for Friday night in Orlando.

The next round will start for Boston on either Sunday, May 5 or Tuesday, May 7 depending on whether or not the Cavs and Magic need a Game 7 to decide their opening-round tussle. But no matter when it starts, Game 7 of Boston's next series will come on May 19. If the Celtics take care of business early in the second round, the Eastern Conference Finals could tip off on that date or a few days later on May 21. 

That would give Porzingis just under three weeks of recovery time. Assuming everything goes right in his rehab -- and the Celtics advance, of course -- Porzingis may be able to return in time for the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Until then, the Celtics will turn to Al Horford to hold down shop in the starting five, with Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman filling bigger roles as Boston's big men off the bench.