Kristaps Porzingis is returning for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. What will he bring to the Boston Celtics?

BOSTON -- Kristaps Porzingis is ready to play some basketball again at the most important time of the year for the Boston Celtics. But how much will he bring to the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks?

Porzingis is set to return in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday night following a nearly 40-day layoff after straining his right calf in the first round against Miami. He spent the last two days telling reporters that he's ready, but there are some questions as to how healthy the Boston big man will be after he showed some hesitation when asked if he was at -- or close to -- 100 percent.

"Uhhhh, yes," Porzingis responded Tuesday after a lengthy pause.

Porzingis ramped up his rehab over the last week and began taking part in scrimmages. But when asked if he's feeling like his usual self on Wednesday, Porzingis said he won't truly know until he gets into game action on Thursday night. 

"It's tough to say. I haven't played. I haven't played for a while," Porzingis responded during NBA Finals media day. "[Game 1] will be my real, like, first real minutes in a while, you know? I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there's nothing like game minutes and game experience that I'm going to get [Thursday night]."

Porzingis added that it will be tough to jump into a setting like the NBA Finals, but he will not be taking a cautious approach. He'll be going all out to help the Celtics win a title. 

"I've came back from multiple injuries. I've had these first games back, of course not at this stage. At the end it's just basketball," he said. "Of course, the intensity is a little bit higher. I have to go out there and play like it's a basketball game, an important basketball game, and that's it. I don't need to think too much or, yeah, overthink. Just go out there and hoop.

"I have to feel confident to go out there and leave it all on the floor and expect that I'm going to be healthy and completely fine," he added.

With Porzingis, especially close to full strength, the Celtics should be able to unlock their full offensive potential thanks to his floor spacing and ability to bounce to the rim. He'll cause matchup nightmares around the hoop, and can pull Dallas' bigs out of the paint when he sets up shop on the three-point line. He makes Boston's top-ranked offense all the more dangerous.

On defense, Porzingis' rim protection will create another layer for Dallas' Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to have to drive through on their way to the hoop. He's a big difference-maker that will make life easier on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and his impact will be a massive x-factor in the series. Even a Porzingis at 80 percent will bring something to the floor.

But if Porzingis is around 60 percent, it could cause some serious problems for Boston. At this stage, the Celtics can't afford forcing a Porzingis that isn't up to the task onto the court.

It shouldn't take too long to see which kind of Porzingis the Celtics will get back. There will obviously be some rust for him to knock off after such a long layoff, but the Mavericks are going to be in full attack mode when they see a clear path toward Porzingis. They're going to test his calf every chance they get, especially Thursday night, and he needs to be ready.

Maybe his hesitation over the last two days was just a stellar acting job by Porzingis to keep the Mavericks on their toes. But if he does show some reluctance or is overly cautious with his calf in his first game back, the Celtics shouldn't force it and turn to Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman to handle the duties in the paint.

The Celtics went 9-1 without Porzingis this postseason, after going 21-4 without his services in the regular season. But his return will make Boston all the more dynamic on both ends of the floor.