Kristaps Porzingis' new injury leaves door cracked open for Mavericks comeback

For what it's worth, Jared Weiss of The Athletic captured a short video of Porzingis on Tuesday, showing the 28-year-old Latvian seemingly walking well.

Porzingis led Boston in blocks per game (1.9) in the regular season, finished second in rebounding (7.2) and third in scoring (20.1 points per game) and was first in field goal percentage (51.6%) among the eight players who saw at least 16 minutes of action per contest. 

The 2018 All-Star started in all 57 games he appeared in prior to the playoffs, but he suffered a right calf injury during Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Miami Heat.

Porzingis was then sidelined for over a month, covering 10 games and including the entire second and third rounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, respectively.

The Celtics showed off their depth with Porzingis sidelined, turning to 37-year-old Al Horford to fill the vacant spot in the starting lineup. The five-time All-Star had multiple clutch performances with his teammate on the bench, averaging 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds across Boston's four-game sweep of the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Porzingis had a triumphant return in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, pouring in 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting with six rebounds and three blocks in just 21 minutes. He was efficient again in Game 2, going 4-for-7 for 12 points and adding four rebounds and two blocks.

If the Mavericks want any chance of making this a competitive series or coming back from a 2-0 hole, they will need to take advantage of a possibly undermanned opponent without its best rim protector.