According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Kristaps Porzingis will make his season debut tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers. Porzingis returns five months after his first foot surgery since helping the Celtics capture Banner 18 in the 2024 NBA Finals.

Boston will get a huge boost from Porzingis’ shot creation and rim protection, with Jayson Tatum recently calling his missing teammate the team’s “cheat code.” The Celtics struggled to fill the center position in his absence, needing both to manage Al Horford’s minutes and rotate between Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta. The latter has had the lion’s share of minutes lately, but has struggled to finish at the rim and defend the pick-and-roll.

His return will be surprising given many previous reports. Initial speculation was that Porzingis would return sometime around Christmas, and with Boston looking to defend its title, there seemed to be no reason to push him back into the lineup.

However, reports earlier this season suggested that Porzingis’ recovery was going better than expected. He began rehabilitation at Boston’s Maine affiliate a little over a week ago. At 14-3 in an Eastern Conference that’s average at best, it’s unlikely the Celtics would jeopardize Porzingis’ long-term health if they didn’t believe he was fully healthy.

With Porzingis at his best, the Celtics are evolving from a top contender into a near-unbeatable juggernaut that poses too many offensive problems for teams to realistically solve in 48 minutes. The Clippers will be the first team to try it on Monday night.