Celtics Could Get Key Player Back For 76ers Matchup

One of the biggest threats facing the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference is making plans to have one of their most important players return to the lineup soon.

The Boston Celtics will be playing without Kristaps Porzingis to start the 2024-2025 NBA season. During the offseason, Porzningis underwent surgery to repair an ankle injury. He missed all of training camp, the preseason and a few games to start the new year.

The trend will continue for Porzingis as November approaches. How long will his absence last? NBA Insider Shams Charania recently discussed the Celtics big man’s recovery.

“The Celtics are targeting December, as I was told, for Kristaps Porzingis and his return,” Charania said Tuesday during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “And there was a video I saw last (Monday) night of him warming up before the game.” via NESN.

No Porzingis until December? No problem.

The Sixers haven’t played the Celtics yet this year, but they don’t see a team plummeting in the standings as a result of missing their standout big man.

On Wednesday night, the Celtics finally suffered a loss, falling short 135-132 in overtime against the Indiana Pacers. That loss puts the Celtics at 4-1 on the year. They are one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, who moved to 5-0 this week.

It seems like there’s a good chance the Sixers will have a shot at a Celtics lineup with Porzingis in the picture. This season, the Sixers and Celtics won’t have their first meeting until late December. On Christmas Eve, the Sixers travel to TD Garden for a primetime matchup against the defending NBA champions. Barring any setbacks, Porzingis could be good to go by then.

It is unclear where both teams will stand in the standings when that matchup occurs. With the NBA champions still going strong without Porzingis, the Celtics could be near the top of the East in two months. As for the Sixers, they are still searching for their identity and likely won’t find it until they get two key players back in the mix.

Like the Celtics, the Sixers are missing a big man in Joel Embiid. After the seven-time All-Star underwent surgery last year, Embiid has worked his way back into the lineup. He missed the entire preseason and sat out the first four games of the regular season. At this time, the Sixers do not have a timeline for Embiid’s return. They took it day by day. The same goes for Paul George, who is struggling with a broken bone in his knee.

The 1-3 Sixers continue their season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.