The Boston Celtics, who are up 2-0 in the NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks, may have to play without Kristaps Porzingis–but they still can win.

The Celtics came out with a Press release Tuesday:

“Celtics Center Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg at 3:27 of the third quarter of Game 2. The injury is unrelated to Porzingis’s prior right calf injury. After consultation with numerous specialists regarding this rare injury, his availability for upcoming games will be determined day-to-day.”

Joe Mazzulla labeled the injury “serious” and said they took the decision to play out of Porzingis’ hands.

For the first two games, the Celtics appeared to be unstoppable with their 7-foot-3 center on the floor. Porzingis has been knocking down three-pointers, getting blocks, dunking, and hitting mid range jumpers since his return from a calf injury.

It’s important not to forget that the Celtics have made their run to the finals without Porzingis for the past two series. Yes, the Pacers were without Tyrese Haliburton for the last two games, and the Cavaliers were without Donovan Mitchell for the final games as well. The Heat were without Jimmy Butler the entire series against the Heat. But no matter, the Celtics have learned to play without Porzingis in these playoffs, so it won’t be a shell shock for the Celtics. Veteran Al Horford will definitely have to play more minutes and play a bigger role, but he’s been playing an important role in these NBA Finals as well as Porzingis has come off the bench. It almost feels like the C’s knew that Porzingis would be limited in this series.

Taking a look over at Dallas. The only concern the C’s may have of Dallas is their front court coming alive. So far they haven’t been able to catch lobs, create second chance points, or put points on the board. Jayson Tatum will have to go back into playing the power forward and center position which may take away from his offense. Contrary to popular belief, I think more pressure will be on Jaylen Brown to score a lot of points if Porzingis doesn’t play.

Also, more pressure will be on Derrick White. He’s been averaging 16.5 in these Finals which is close to his 15.2 PPG he’s had this season. If the C’s can get about 20 points out of him then they’ll be in good shape. The shot-blocking guards in the league, if he’s also able to continue his strong defensive efforts on Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic then the Celtics have a better shot at containing the Mavs. Sam Hauser will need to knock down some shots, or Payton Pritchard will have to score.

To make a long story less long, in order to win Game 3 and this series without Porzingis, the games will likely come down to the wire in which will be 50/50. Luka is also going through injuries, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.