Celtics Center Robert Williams III Nearing Return for Nets Series, per Report

The Celtics’ big man could potentially return for Boston on Saturday against Brooklyn.

Robert Williams III could be back on the court for the Celtics very soon. The Boston center is reportedly close to returning and could play in Game 3 on Saturday or Game 4 on April 25 against the Nets, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. 

However, the final decision on Williams’s status will be made based on how he feels from day to day, per Charania. 

The update on Williams comes more than two weeks after Celtics coach Ime Udoka said in a news conference before the NBA playoffs started that his big man would not return to the court to begin the postseason. However, in that same news conference, Udoka did state that he expected Williams to return “sooner rather than later.”

Williams tore his meniscus in his left knee March 30 and was expected to miss four to six weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 24-year-old is in his fourth season with Boston after the Celtics selected him in the first round of the 2018 draft.

Before his injury, Williams was averaging a career-high 10 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting 73.6% from the field this season. He has also been the Celtics’ defensive anchor and a key part of the success in the latter stretch of the regular season. 

Currently, Boston leads the series against Brooklyn, 2–0. 

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