Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis to Return From Injury, Make Season Debut vs. Clippers

The Boston Celtics are 14-3 after a Sunday afternoon win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Monday, news broke that the defending champions would enjoy reinforcements.

Cameron Tabatabaie of CelticsWire was first to report on Monday afternoon that Kristaps Porzingis will return from injury and make his season debut against the Los Angeles Clippers at TD Garden. ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed the development a few minutes later. The 7'2" center missed the beginning of the season while recovering from offseason foot surgery, undergone for the unusual foot injury he suffered in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Celtics haven't missed much of a beat without Porzingis, mirroring their performances without the Latvian big man in last year's playoffs; Porzingis suited up for only seven games during Boston's sprint through the postseason gauntlet. The Celtics are second in the East just behind the scorching-hot Cleveland Cavaliers after the first 17 games of the season.

While the Celtics may not necessarily need Porzingis to win games due to the combined All-NBA talents of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, his return is a boon for their hopes to repeat as NBA champs. Boston's interior defense has suffered greatly without Porzingis's presence in the paint and their depth at center behind Al Horford has been tested.

Porzingis, 29, averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 57 regular season games for the Celtics last season.