What will Kristaps Porzingis’ workload look like when he takes the field for the first time this season? Joe Mazzulla wouldn’t say.

But he expects the seven-foot center to make an immediate impact for the Celtics.

“I don’t really know about the minutes,” Mazzulla said before Monday night’s game with the Los Angeles Clippers at TD Garden. ‘He worked hard. He’s in good shape. We’ll put him in a position to be healthy and successful and do what’s best for the team, and I think he’s been pretty consistent just based on his work ethic and what he’s done to get to this point.

Mazzulla said he knew “probably about a week” that Porzingis would make his season debut against the Clippers after undergoing offseason leg surgery and sitting out Boston’s first 17 games. He expects an “adjustment period” as opponents determine the best methods to guard Porzingis, who rejoins a Celtics offense that has attempted nearly 100 more 3-pointers than any other NBA club.

Defensively, Boston will benefit from Porzingis’ versatility and rim protection.

“You can play differently with him,” Mazzulla said. “You can change less and keep your matchups a little different. We haven’t had as much versatility with him, so we’ll try to have a little more versatility. I expect him to influence that tonight.”

No other Celtics player can match Porzingis’ skills on both ends of the court, but Boston won 14 of its first 17 games without him — after going 31-6 in games the big man missed last season. Mazzulla was asked if the Celtics were considering slowing down his return, which wasn’t expected to happen until December.

“I just listen when they tell me he’s ready to play,” Mazzulla replied.

Mazzulla would not say whether Porzingis would have a specific minutes restriction against the Clippers. His top two backups, Al Horford (illness) and Luke Kornet (hamstring), were both ruled out for Monday’s game, leaving Xavier Tillman and Neemias Queta as the only other bigs on Boston’s depth chart.

“We’re going to do what’s best for him and what’s best for the team,” Mazzulla said.

That included putting Porzingis back in the starting lineup for the first time in 32 games, dating back to last postseason. Monday marked the first time Boston’s favored top five of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Porzingis started a game together since Game 4 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series against Miami.

In the meantime it became 27-5.

Originally published: November 25, 2024 at 6:53 PM EST