There is "real doubt" surrounding whether Kristaps Porzingis will be able to return in the NBA Finals, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Porzingis missed Game 3 due to a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon.

"There is real doubt about Kristaps Porzingis, his availability the rest of this series. It was the Celtics medical staff that ruled him out ... despite the fact that he wanted to push through and try to participate in Game 3," said Wojnarowski.

The Celtics have a 3-0 lead over the Mavs. 

The Boston Celtics have ruled Kristaps Porzingis out for Game 3 with his left foot injury.

Porzingis suffered the injury in the second half of the Celtics' Game 2 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Porzingis has a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon.

The injury is not related to his calf injury suffered in the first round of the playoffs. 

Jason Kidd insists his comments between Game 1 and Game 2 about Jaylen Brown being the best player on the Boston Celtics wasn't an attempt to play mind games. 

“It wasn’t mind games,” Kidd told The Athletic on Tuesday after the Dallas Mavericks' practice. “But for whatever reason, everybody took it that way. Everybody was speculating, and no one really asked me that.”

Kidd and Brown also have a real relationship dating back to Brown's time at Cal.

“My whole thing was that, watching the Eastern Conference (playoffs), like, he has been (the Celtics’ best player),” Kidd said. “No one ever said I was wrong. Even their player said I wasn’t lying.”

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, which was suffered in the first round of the playoffs. Porzngis missed five weeks with the injury before returning for Game 1.

After consultation with numerous specialists regarding this injury, his availability for upcoming games will be determined day-to-day.

Kristaps Porzingis will undergo imaging on his right leg after appearing to tweak it in the Boston Celtics' 105-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2.

Porzingis expects to continue to play ahead of Game 3 on Wednesday. 

"Not difficult at all," Porzingis said, when asked if it was tough for him to continue playing. "I'll die out there if we need, so I just kept going.

"But obviously I was a little bit limited, so the smart thing was to get Al [Horford] back in there and close out the game."

On the eve of the Finals against his former team, Kristaps Porzingis was adamant he holds "no ill will" about his tenure with the Dallas Mavericks.

During Porzingis' time with the Mavericks, they had a pair of competitive first round exits against the Los Angeles Clippers. Porzingis tore his meniscus in the series in 2020 and had become more of a role player in 2021. The Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022 after trading him to the Washington Wizards at that year's trade deadline. 

"Not all of it was like not good," Porzingis said. "We had some good moments. We had some decent moments, but overall it just didn't work for both sides. It wasn't perfect. But I would say everything -- teammates, locker room -- I know at that time there were some rumors that there was something in the locker room. It was never like that. It was all just noise at the end.

"It just wasn't perfect for us playing together, and it didn't work out. And that's it. There's no ill will, I don't think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don't think there should be. It just didn't work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there."

Porzingis has acknowledged it was initially difficult for him to play a secondary role behind Luka Doncic.

"I don't know why it didn't work out," said Doncic, who has downplayed the discussion about friction in his relationship with Porzingis over the years. "We were still both young. We tried to make it work, but it just didn't work. So we moved on."

There is a frequently recited mantra that the team with the best player in the series typically wins it. But the broader context of the teams matters as well. The Dallas Mavericks have the better player in Luka Doncic, but the Boston Celtics had the far superior record and point differential in the regular season.

According to research by Ben Rohrbach, the "best" player in the NBA Finals has won 56 of 68 championships, good for a win percentage of 82.4 percent. LeBron James accounts for five of those 12 losses.

The team with the better regular season record has finished 47-18 in the Finals, which is a win percentage of 72.3 percent. Teams that finish with eight or more wins than their opponents are 30-5 (.857 winning percentage) in the Finals.

The NBA announced the 12 officials who will work the upcoming NBA Finals on Tuesday.

The refs include: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Marc Davis, James Capers, Zach Zarba, John Goble, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Josh Tiven, Courtney Kirkland, James Williams and Kevin Scott.

"Each of these 12 officials have shown excellent skills, focus and commitment throughout the season and in the previous playoff rounds," said Byron Spruell, NBA president, league operations.

Tyler Ford and Ben Taylor were announced as alternate officials.  

Kristaps Porzingis completed multiple scrimmages in recent days and is on track to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Porzingis has been out since April 29th with a calf injury.

Latvia released their preliminary roster for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament hosted in Riga, Latvia. That roster is headlined by Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis is currently recovering from a strained right calf. He's expected to be ready for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, starting on Thursday, June 6.

The 7-foot-3 center missed the 2023 FIBA World Cup for Latvia, as he was recovering from plantar fasciitis. It's unknown if Porzingis will play for Latvia in the Qualifying Tournament in early-July, or in the Paris Olympics, should his team advance.

Latvia's roster also includes current NBA player Davis Bertans. Former NBA players Dairis Bertans, Rodions Kurucs and Anzejs Pasecniks are also on the roster.

Latvia will play in Group A against Georgia and the Philippines. The winner of Group A will advance to play either Brazil, Cameroon or Montenegro for berth in the Summer Olympics.