While the Celtics may not necessarily need Porzingis to win games due to the combined All-NBA talents of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, his return is a boon for their hopes to repeat as NBA champs. Boston's interior defense has suffered greatly without Porzingis's presence in the paint and their depth at center behind Al Horford has been tested.

The Celtics will remain shorthanded in the frontcourt on Monday night against the Clippers despite getting a big boost at center. The team announced three bigs are on the injury report for tonight’s contest at TD Garden as they face off against a hot Clippers team on a back-to-back.

The Celtics faced one of the best rim protectors in the NBA on Sunday in Rudy Gobert so it’s no surprise they spent much of their 107-105 win over the Wolves living around the 3-point line. Boston attempted 56 of their 87 field goal attempts from beyond the arc in the matchup,