Kristaps Porzingis 'a full go' at Mavs practice; Rick Carlisle says star could possibly return in couple weeks

Porzingis has yet to make his debut as he's recovering from a meniscus tear

The return of Kristaps Porzingis could be just around the corner, at least that's what Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle told the media Tuesday afternoon. The 7-foot-3 big man hasn't made his season debut yet as he's been rehabbing from a meniscus tear he suffered during the first round of the playoffs last season against the Clippers. During training camp, Carlisle said Porzingis would be out to start the season, and that his return could come some time in January. With December coming to an end, he appears to be on track to do so. 

Porzingis has been ramping up on-court activities over the past few weeks, and Carlisle said he was a full participant during Tuesday's practice with the team, signaling a return is near. While the Mavericks have yet to put a definitive timetable on his return, Carlisle said Porzingis playing in the next couple weeks wasn't "far-fetched."

The big man's return is a game-changer for a Mavericks team gunning for one of the top spots in the West this season. During the postseason last year, Porzingis looked nearly unstoppable against the undersized Clippers, and his chemistry with Luka Doncic was at its peak in the playoffs. In his first full season with Dallas, after being traded from the Knicks, Porzingis was slow to acclimate himself to a new organization and teammates, while also stepping foot on an NBA court for the first time since tearing his ACL in 2018. By the midpoint of the season, though, after Porzingis moved from power forward to center out of necessity due to Dwight Powell going down for the season, he began to regain his All-Star form that we saw prior to his injury in 2018. 

The Mavericks have missed Porzingis' scoring ability on offense and interior presence on defense, resulting in a 1-2 record in the opening week of the new season. However, after Dallas picked up its first win -- a 51-point blowout over the Clippers on Sunday -- we got a glimpse of what this team could be going forward. Adding Porzingis into that mix, with Doncic running the show and Josh Richardson flanking him on the wing and bringing the intensity on defense, Dallas could make some real noise in the Western Conference when the playoffs roll around.