Kristaps Porzingis proves how important he is to the Boston Celtics in season-debut

It only took one game for Kristaps Porzingis to prove just how valuable he is to the Boston Celtics.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers continued to rack up headlines with their 17-1 start to the season, the Boston Celtics knew their time was coming - when they would finally be healthy and at full strength. Somewhat surprisingly, that time came a bit sooner than expected. The Celtics welcomed the return of Kristaps Porzingis Monday night and it didn't take long for his impact to be felt on the floor for Boston.

With Al Horford out, the Celtics didn't miss a beat in large part because of the return of KP. Even though there were some rough patches and he still has some rust to play through, his presence was felt from the opening tip on both ends of the floor. As one of the most underrated rim protectors in the league, the Celtics were flying around defensively better than at any point so far this season when KP was on the floor.

The impact of Kristaps Porzingis

Offensively, KP's lack of hesitance to shoot from deep or take the ball to the cup was a welcomed sight. Even his mere presence on the floor helps unlock another level of this team's offensive firepower. In the second quarter against the LA Clippers specifically, we saw just how dangerous this Celtics team could be when at full strength.

During that frame, with KP playing six of those minutes, the Celtics outscored the Clippers 51-29. Boston hit 12 3's in that stanza alone while shooting 71 percent from the floor. It's not that the Celtics hadn't played that well all season long without KP, because they had in spurts. However, it's when KP is on the floor, with his skill set and versatility, that the Celtics can play at that level much more frequently. It's part of the reason why the Celtics dominated their way toward an NBA Championship last season so easily.

The scary part for the rest of the league is that this was just game one with KP back. He's going to get better as he gets more comfortable post-injury and the Celtics are going to be that much more dangerous. Even operating under the radar with Cleveland's start to the season in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics have been a sleeping giant amongst the contenders thus far.

But it appears they're fully awake and healthy now. The Celtics have played good basketball to start this season and I'm not even sure we've even seen them scrape the surface on their ceiling. That's a scary idea for the rest of the East. KP is back and the Celtics look like world-beaters again. If this team remains healthy, there's little that could stand in the way of them hoisting a second-straight NBA Championship.