Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the Celtics are a “significantly” different team when Porzingis is not available — no other Boston big can replicate his combination of 3-point shooting and top-tier rim defense — but still a formidable foe because of their depth and versatility.

Kristaps Porzingis missed the Celtics' matchup with the Thunder on Thursday night. Porzingis has missed seven of the last eight games with a non-COVID illness.

The Latvian center has missed a lot of time lately while dealing with what he recently revealed to be an unnamed viral infection, causing fans of the team to worry about whether this is simply a bad bug KP needs a little more time to recover from -- or something more serious that could jeopardize his health longer-term.