Stephen A. Smith names the ONE Boston Celtics player who must be healthy if they are to win the NBA Championship

Stephen A. Smith made the case that the Boston Celtics need Kristaps Porzingis to be healthy to win the NBA Championship.

After suffering a right soleus strain in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Miami Heat, the seven-year vet missed the entire series against the Cleveland Cavaliers and is yet to return for the Cs.

On Tuesday, Smith insisted that the Celtics would not be able to beat the winner between Minnesota and Dallas in the West without the Latvian big man.

‘You are not beating Minnesota or Dallas in the NBA Finals without Kristaps Porzingis,’ Smith said. ‘Because he’s seven-feet-three, he’s a three-point shooter, but primarily, he’s a shot blocker that allows you to depend too much on Al Horford.’

‘Listen [Jayson] Tatum, [Jaylen] Brown, [Jrue] Holiday, [Derrick] White, we get all of that,’ he continued. ‘But if you can exploit the interior of Boston because you got some size and some athleticism and you got some guy who’s a shot-blocker who’s not in there, I think that drastically affects Boston’s chances. They need him to win the chip.’

Porzingis has been out with a calf strain since Game 4 of their first round series against Miami 

The Celtics beat the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers en route to the conference finals 

In his four playoff games this season, Porzingis tallied 49 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks.

Although his team cruised past the Heat and Cavaliers – the latter without him – ESPN reported that Porzingis may return by Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Celtics are entering their third straight conference finals appearance against the Indiana Pacers. However, Smith confidently predicted that Boston would come out of the series and compete for another title.

‘They’ll get to the finals,’ Smith declared. ‘I think Indiana will give them a competitive series, but Boston will win.’

So far, Smith has been spot-on with his predictions as Tuesday’s Game 1 went into overtime with the Celtics winning, 133-128. 

The Celtics won Game 1 of the conference finals series against Indiana, 133-128 in overtime 

Tatum led the way for the Boston with 36 points and 12 rebounds against the Pacers 

Tatum led the way for Boston with 36 and 12 rebounds points while Holiday and Brown had 28 and 26 points, respectively. Meanwhile, White and Horford each clocked in 15 points in the victory.

On the other hand, Pascal Siakam (24 pts and 12 reb), Myles Turner (23 pts and 10 reb), and Tyrese Haliburton (25 pts and 10 ast) all tallied double-doubles in Indiana’s losing effort.

The series will continue with Game 2 on Thursday evening.