SAN FRANCISCO – After a postgame meal following Tuesday’s 124-97 win over Golden State, Kristaps Porzingis sat in front of his locker at Chase Center and blurted out the words every Dallas Mavericks’ fan wanted to hear.
“I’m hoping I’ll play tomorrow (against Sacramento),” Porzingis said. “I have to get the final answer from the medical staff, but I felt good.
“I worked out today again, I’m finally healthy, I pretty much feel back to normal with the sickness that I had, and that’s it. I’m eager to get back on the court.”
And the Mavs are extremely eager to have their 7-3 power forward back on the court.
At different times during his interview session, Porzingis had to pause so he could cough. So, what was the illness that played a role in keeping him off the court?
“Just a little bit of fever, body aches,” Porzingis said. “I don’t know what the heck was going on, but I didn’t feel that good.”
Porzingis hasn’t played since the Dec. 29 game against the Los Angeles Lakers when he came out of that contest with soreness in his right knee. Somewhere along the way over the past two weeks he also developed a fever.
However, Porzingis said he doesn’t really know if the fever set him back and prevented him from playing sooner.
“I probably could have gotten more work in,” he said. “That was a few days that I wasn’t out on the court.
“But more or less this was the plan to come back around this time from the knee injury — even if I didn’t get sick.”
Porzingis hopes the plan to play Wednesday in Sacramento at 9 p.m. CT comes to fruition
“When I’m out, I miss playing so much,” he said. “Tonight (against the Warriors), we had a good night and I’m eager to get back on the court as soon as possible, and hopefully tomorrow.”
The Mavs hope so, too. Especially since Porzingis noted that the soreness has subsided from his knee.
“Once I warm up, I don’t really feel nothing in it,” he said. “I feel good.”
Porzingis did receive a platelet-rich-plasma injection as part of the treatment to help heal his knee.
“That was the first time I heard about it, so we did it,” Porzingis said. “I don’t know if it helped me or maybe set me back a little bit. It’s hard to say.
“It probably did help me. But in the moment, it feels like. . .sometimes the knee might be acting in a way or whatever. But I’m glad that now with each day I can say that I’m feeling better and better, the knee’s feeling better and better.”
The Mavs were 4-4 in the last eight games that Porzingis missed. And they truly missed the 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots that he’s averaging per game.
“We always have things that we can get better at,” Porzingis said. “I know I can add a lot to this team and that’s why I’m so eager to get back out there and keep playing well and keep rolling.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
Share and comment