Inside The Celtics

The Celtics Are Pushing Robert Williams to Take His Offense to the Next Level

As the Celtics pursue Banner 18, Robert Williams is their x-factor.

Bobby Krivitsky

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Celtics know Robert Williams can do this:

And that:

There's tremendous value in what Williams brings at both ends of the floor. He's a rim protector who can close out to shooters in the corner. And if asked to, he's comfortable switching.

Offensively, whether he's in the dunker spot or rolling to the rim, the Time Lord's a lob threat defenses have to respect. He's a vertical spacer who often forces the opposition to choose between rotating to tag him as he comes downhill or staying attached to a shooter in the corner.

He's also an impactful screener and a precise passer with tremendous instincts. Williams is decisive with the ball, reads the floor well, and he's an effective facilitator.

But in order for his team to tap into what Williams has to offer, he has to stay on the floor.

After suffering a meniscus tear in his left knee in late March last year, Williams underwent a partial left knee meniscectomy, which allowed him to return and help Boston go on a playoff run that came within two wins of raising Banner 18 to the TD Garden rafters. It's a decision he said he has no regrets about.

Then, in the offseason, he had an arthroscopic knee procedure to clean out some loose bodies in his left knee, and he received a PRP injection. Between that combination delaying his season debut until mid-December, managing his knee once he returned, and a left hamstring strain, the Time Lord played 35 games, averaging 23.5 minutes per contest this season.

His 824 minutes ranked 300th and were fewer than household names like Theo Maledon, Daishen Nix, and JT Thor, per Celtics' play-by-play announcer Sean Grande.

But the defending Eastern Conference champions feel good about how they managed Williams' regular-season workload.

"Knock on wood, the whole team, not just him (load management), it's been good," expressed Celtics' president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, before Boston's 120-114 Easter Sunday victory vs. the Hawks.

"Missing a bunch of games at the start of the year was not ideal. It did force us to morph into a team that could do other things and give us a different way of playing, so there's some advantage to that. And then, he's come back and played well, and I'm really encouraged that he played the minutes he played the last couple of games.

"Such a balance as you get late in the year of getting appropriate rest and doing that through the minor injuries that everybody's got and ramping up and making sure that you play enough games at playoff minutes, making you sure you play, have enough real practice sessions at minutes that challenge you, I think that's really important."

As Stevens highlighted, Williams logged over 31 minutes in the Celtics' 97-93 win over the Raptors, then played 25 two nights later as Boston beat Toronto 121-102, sweeping a two-game series.

The Celtics want the Time Lord on the floor as long as possible, but for that to happen, along with being healthy, the former Texas A&M Aggie must have the stamina to remain productive as the stakes are higher, the intensity ramps up, and minutes become more taxing.

"I'm feeling good physically, man," Williams conveyed Tuesday at the Auerbach Center following the Celtics' first practice after the regular season wrapped. "I'm in a good mindset compared to last year, obviously, going through what I was going through. I'm just anxious, man. I'm just ready to play."

While goal one is making sure the Time Lord's available from one game to the next and for as much of each matchup as possible, the defending Eastern Conference champions are also pushing Williams to take his offense to the next level.

They want him to capitalize against switches, especially when there's a chance to seal off a smaller defender in the low post, and his team trusts him to make a productive play when he gets the ball with a foot in the paint.

While Williams is a pass-first player looking to set his teammates up to score, Boston benefits from him being aggressive in scenarios like the ones mentioned above.

Fellow front-court mate Al Horford stated Tuesday, "When Rob plays, when he's a consistent threat at the rim, it just takes our team to a whole new level. And that last game he played against Toronto, I thought he was making an effort to have an impact. And we know that he has that capability, and I'm excited to see him do that now in the postseason."

Here's an example of what Horford's referring to, on a play against the Raptors, where Williams shared on Tuesday that as he caught the ball in the low post, head coach Joe Mazzulla yelled to him from the bench to "score the expletive ball."

As the Celtics pursue Banner 18, the Time Lord is their x-factor, in this author's opinion, capable of raising their ceiling at both ends of the court.

When relying on someone as much as Boston is with Williams, it helps for that individual to be "mature beyond his years," as Horford said of his 25-year-old teammate.

The Celtics' elder statesman, a mentor to Williams since he came into the league, added, "He's the kind of guy that you don't have to say much to him. But when I do try to talk to him, obviously, always encouraging him to be aggressive, to be himself. He can do so many things for us on the floor offensively and on the defensive end, too. So, I just want to -- I'm just there to support him, to have his back, and to help our team win games."

Further Reading

Al Horford Thinks Celtics Need to Improve on Defense for Playoffs

Joe Mazzulla Provides Injury Updates on Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart

Joe Mazzulla and Brad Stevens Discuss How the Celtics' Head Coach Has Grown in His First Year at the Helm: 'He's Been a Great Strength for Us'

Celtics Positioned for a Top Second-Round Pick

Ime Udoka Reportedly a Top Candidate for Multiple Head-Coaching Vacancies

Jayson Tatum is Ready for the Challenges that Await the Celtics in the Playoffs: 'We've Not Been Waiting for it But Working for it'

Jaylen Brown Shares What Winning the Red Auerbach Award Means to Him: 'I've Put My Everything Into This Team, I've Put My Everything Into This City'

Jaylen Brown on His Relationship with Jayson Tatum: 'We’re a Part of Each Other’s Destiny'

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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