It would be as wrong to sit him longer than he needs to (makes it all the harder to get back into playing rhythm) as it would be to try to create a Willis Reed moment where he limps on to the court out of desperation.
It's equally as bad to give a guy extra rest as it is to bring him back too early?
How do you figure?
Well alright, hard to say which is worse, but this is "how I figure". If you sit him too long, longer than needed, you risk not having him back in full game shape/rhyhm when you need him. I am not saying bring him back before he is healthy, that goes without saying. I am saying Doctors and everyone say "good to go" but you decide to continue to sit him anyway because you think you can beat whoever you are playing without him. That seems to be what people are saying. "Don't play him until [fill in the blank] no matter what the Doctors say" is what I don't agree with.
There is always going to be some risk of reinjury, not sure a week more than when the Doctors say he is ready, is going to lower the risk of injury all that much. If it is just going to pop again, it is just going to pop. The only argument I could come up with is if you bring him back when the Doctors say "good to go" and that means playing say 12 games, vs. arbitrarily sitting him longer so he only has to play say 9 games, there is less risk of injury in 9 games than 12 games, sure. But what if he needs say 3 games to be back fully in rhythm both in terms of his game and within the overall team? The longer he sits, the longer it is going to take to get his game fully back. That might mean a lost game in the finals because Porzingis is still trying to find his game.
So if the Doctors notify the team tomorrow that he is 100%, passed all tests, and Porzingis says he feels 100%, and looks fine running the court in practice, do you just arbitrarily and not play him for the rest of the Cavs series? Do you not play him in the next round too, if you go up 2-0 without him? Then do you bring him back for game 1 of the finals to be his first game? What is your "figure"? Doctors say OK plus 1 week, 2 weeks? Or are you saying just arbitrarily don't play him until [xxxx] no matter what the Doctors say?