Is Kristaps Porzingis playing tonight? Latest injury update for Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Kristaps Porzingis was a transformative addition for the Boston Celtics this season, in more ways than one. He was acquired as part of a deal that sent Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies, a player who had served as Boston's spiritual standard-bearer for the past few seasons. Porzingis' size, mobility and combination of rim protection and floor-spacing promised to revitalize the Celtics and he certainly did during the regular season.

Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocks per game, shooting a career-best 51.6 percent from the floor. The Celtics were 43-14 with him in the lineup and had just two double-digit losses in the 57 games he played. But they've also been thriving without him in the playoffs.

In Game 4 of the first round, Porzingis suffered a calf injury and missed Game 5 of that series as well as the next two rounds in their entirety. That's 10 straight games he's missed, going back to May 1, but the Celtics won nine of them to get to the Finals.

Kristaps Porzingis is clear to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Porzingis has reportedly played in multiple scrimmages in the lead-up to the NBA Finals and is not listed on the injury report, meaning he is good to go for Game 1. However, he acknowledged that he won't know if he's 100 percent until he gets back on the floor and it's possible it may take him some time to adjust after a layoff of more than a month.

The Celtics will absolutely need his size against Dallas who have gotten huge contributions from their big-man tandem of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. Keeping them off the offensive glass and closing down their lobs out of the pick-and-roll will be crucial for a Boston team whose other bigs are Al Horford and Luke Kornet.