The Boston Celtics inserted Kristaps Porzingis into their starting lineup for the first time this season, as the starting big man made his debut on the second night of a back-to-back at the TD Garden.

Porzingis finished the game with 16-points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 1-of-6 from behind the arc with 6-rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.

Boston’s starting center played 23-minutes (13 in the first half, 10 in the second) and didn’t have any restrictions or limitations. Just before the start of the second half, Porzingis stretched his ankle to prepare for another half of basketball on a night Boston didn’t have Al Horford or Luke Kornet.

Porzingis maneuvered himself well all around the court, protected the paint and the rim with ease while earning a couple of blocks in the game as well.

In the third quarter, Porzingis showed that he is healthy and ready to play again. He started behind the arc of the left wing, high gathered through two defenders in the paint and finished with a dunk over a third defender.

The original timeline for Porzingis to return to the court after surgery in June was around 5-6 months, which brings us to November or December.

Porzingis told Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston that he’s playing as soon as he’s cleared to play and there isn’t anyone that can hold him back.

It’s worth mentioning that the Celtics weren’t going to rush Porzingis back, but they needed his services despite starting the season off so well without him.

Without Porzingis, Boston currently ranks at the bottom of the league in opponents points scored in the paint at 52.9 per game, which is good for the fifth month in the league.

Boston also struggled at times with spacing the floor as they don’t have a big man that regularly plays both inside and outside of the arc like Porzingis does.

Porzingis looked great in his season debut for the Celtics and will look to build on this moving forward.

“We were able to get back to some of our defensive versatility, a little bit of rim protection and more physicality on the ball because he was back there.”- Joe Mazzulla

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Photo Credit:Brian Fluharty, NBAE Getty Images