Lost in the Celtics’ Drama Is the Absence of Robert Williams III

Williams isn’t just important to Boston’s chances of getting back to the Finals. He’s indispensable.

Another week, it would have been a bigger story.

Robert Williams III is down 8–12 weeks following knee surgery.

And how sure are the Celtics he is going to be Robert Williams III when he gets back?

This week hasn’t been about Williams, of course. It hasn’t been about how Jaylen Brown has handled trade rumors, how Jayson Tatum plans to improve or how Malcolm Brogdon is going to fit in.

It’s been about Ime Udoka. And how the Celtics lost Udoka. And how Joe Mazzulla, the 34-year-old recently elevated assistant, will coach differently than Udoka. The story Tuesday was Mazzulla’s first practice. The story Wednesday was how Boston was reportedly exploring adding former Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga to Mazzulla’s staff. Larranaga, a source told Sports Illustrated, intends to remain with the Clippers.

At some point, though, the story will become Williams. And what exactly Williams, after two knee surgeries in five months, will look like when he gets back.

Williams isn’t just important to Boston’s chances of getting back to the Finals. He’s indispensable. Last season was a breakout one for Williams. He averaged 10 points, a career high. He pulled down a shade under 10 rebounds, again, a career high. He played in 61 games that (you guessed it) was a career high. He came back from late-season surgery after four weeks and dragged that left knee through high-pressure games for nearly six more.

And now he’s out. For two months. Maybe more.

On Monday, Williams, walking gingerly but without a crutch, was vague about the reason for his second surgery. “Just some recurring problems,” he said. But he made it clear he doesn’t regret playing through his injury last season. “I was 24 years old, my dream was to play in the Finals,” Williams said. “Can’t regret that s---.”

The Celtics don’t, either. But the frontcourt depth, already thin after the likely season-ending injury to Danilo Gallinari, looks even thinner with Williams on the shelf. Al Horford, the 36-year-old forward, will shift over to center. Grant Williams will get more reps. Go deeper, and you are looking at Luke Kornet, who played 85 minutes last season. Keep digging, and you’ll find Noah Vonleh and Mfiondu Kabengele.

Dwight Howard, still a free agent, has never looked so good.

Best case, Williams returns in early December and is the defensive terror he was before he went out—he averaged 2.2 blocks last season, another career high. He’s certainly motivated. In an interview before the Udoka scandal broke, Williams talked about how the Finals loss lingered with him all offseason.

“You really never recover from it,” Williams told SI. “If I’m going to be honest with you, you really never do. You just learn to sort of get ready for the next season and just try to prepare that way as much as possible. That's the only thing you can do.

“I feel like the Warriors were a great team, a great dynasty with great vets, and they had what it took when it came down to the wire. But I also feel like us, as a team, we made mistakes that we worked during the year on fixing and we just slipped up. We’ve got to fix them, man, try to get better.”

The Celtics are better. Brown, whose numbers spiked in the second half of last season, is in the best shape of his career entering this one. Tatum, after a summer spent fine-tuning his game with longtime trainer Drew Hanlen and adding to it in workouts with Kevin Durant, is poised to enter the MVP race. And Brogdon is exactly the kind of playmaking combo guard Boston badly needed.

But the Celtics need Williams—a healthy Williams—more. As a defender. As a rebounder. As a lob threat. Williams’s first surgery, in March, was described as a meniscus trim, a less invasive procedure than a meniscus repair, which would have sidelined him for significantly longer—probably the duration of the playoffs. The most recent surgery, the Celtics said, was to “remove loose bodies and address swelling” in the same knee. It’s certainly reasonable to wonder whether this will be the end of it.

“Nobody knows if they’re going to get hurt again,” Williams said Monday. “But like I said, I’m pretty confident, man. I made a decision to come back in a timely fashion last year. But, you know, we’re going to get right this time.”

Here’s hoping. How Mazzulla handles the head coaching duties will undoubtedly impact the Celtics’ success. But this is a team built to win that knows how to win … if it has all of its pieces on the floor. Williams was one of Boston’s bigger surprises last season. The Celtics will be happy just to see him healthy and on the floor in this one.