Insider provides timeline on Kristaps Porzingis' return

Pacers center Myles Turner torched the Celtics in Tuesday's Game 1, making 3-of-4 from deep en route to 23 points. While the Celtics prevailed, they sorely missed the presence of Kristaps Porzingis, who could have neutralized Turner's impact with his own sharpshooting.

Luckily for the Celtics, there is "growing optimism" Porzingis will suit up for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The report added that Porzingis "has been making progress" from his right calf strain and has been accelerating his on-court ramp up with hopes of playing at some point in the series.

However, the report ruled out the idea of the Celtics pushing their star big man to return prematurely.

"The Celtics won't rush Porzingis back, and they want to continue to be conservative in his recovery, but sources say he is inching closer to a return," wrote Wojnarowski.

Porzingis suffered the calf injury during Game 4 of the first-round series against the Heat on April 30. He would miss the entirety of the second-round series against the Cavaliers, which the Celtics won 4-1. 

Many analysts believe Porzingis holds the key to Boston's chances of hanging Banner No. 18. If the C's get past the Pacers to face either the Timberwolves or the Mavericks in the NBA finals, Porzingis could be the X-factor that makes Boston nearly unbeatable in a seven-game series. 

In 57 regular season games, Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while making an impressive 1.9 threes per game. As a rim protector, he held opponents to 44.3 percent shooting in the paint, leading the league in that specific category, per Second Spectrum.