What happened to Kristaps Porzingis? Latest injury update for Celtics center Game 4 exit (April 29)

The Boston Celtics may not be able to finish Game 4 against the Miami Heat with Kristaps Porzingis on the roster. Boston’s lanky center exited in the second quarter due to what has been ruled as right calf tightness. Before prematurely leaving the game, he had seven points and three rebounds in 14 minutes.

The first sign of trouble happened with a little over three minutes when the Latvian went for an offensive rebound. He was jostling with Heat guard Tyler Herro when he seemed to have tweaked his ankle. In the Celtics’ following possession, he suddenly limped and promptly signaled to the bench to take him off.

Kristaps Porzingis has missed a handful of games this season due to issues on both calves. With the Celtics up big, he isn’t likely to return in Game 4. The No. 1 seed will be hoping to close out the series as soon as possible to give him some time to recover.

There is some good news, though, despite the concerning way Porzingis asked to be taken out. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski had the latest on that end:

“Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (right calf) will undergo imaging on Tuesday but early indications are that he hasn’t sustained an Achilles injury, sources tell ESPN.”

Without the former New York Knicks star, Joe Mazzulla will count on Al Horford to play center. The veteran should have no problem taking on that role as he has been asked to do the same on multiple occasions this season.

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Losing Kristaps Porzingis will be big for Celtics

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens acquired Kristaps Porzingis to give the team a different look. He wanted somebody who could stretch the floor and also protect the rim with the best of them. With Porzingis playing that role to the hilt, the Celtics ran away from the rest of the field in the regular season.

Al Horford will likely slot in seamlessly as the starting center but losing Porzingis will be big. With the Latvian, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla can be quite flexible with his unit on the floor. He can have a double big with both centers together. Boston will not have that luxury if he misses time.

The Celtics will likely give an update after Kristaps Porzingis gets an MRI. Boston fans can only hope the injury is nothing more than right calf tightness.