Getty Ime Udoka, Boston Celtics
Grant Williams was a success story of the Boston Celtics’ impressive 2021-22 season, bouncing back from a difficult sophomore year to become an integral member of the team’s rotation.
Improvements in his mobility, perimeter defense, and three-point shooting ability all saw Williams become one of the most respected three-and-D wings in the NBA. Now, of course, the question is whether he can sustain his newfound level of play moving forward.
I’ve said this a bunch through the week, but Grant Williams being trusted to switch onto Kyrie and KD on the perimeter – and limiting those guys – speak volumes to his development since last season
According to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, Williams still has another gear he can find, and could take another developmental step in the coming season – assuming he’s been putting the work in over the summer.
“His three-ball and improved mobility gave him extra juice away from the basket, but he can still muscle up in the frontcourt to bang with bigs. He has played everywhere but point guard during his first three seasons with the Shamrocks.
Still, it feels like he has another level to reach, one higher than most fans might think. He’s still working on consistency—he had a rough go in the Finals—and hasn’t dabbled much with shot creation. If he fine-tunes his established strengths and develops more, look out,” Buckley wrote on August 18.
Despite his improvements, Williams did struggle in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, so it will be interesting to see what he’s added to his game this summer, as he bids to help the Celtics win their 18th championship next season.
Williams Looking to Improve as Movement Shooter
When speaking to Heavy.com’s Jack Simone, Grant Williams detailed the areas of his game that he’s been working to improve over the summer – with a focus on his movement shooting, screen navigation, and including a floater shot into his game.
“Shooting on the move, that’s the big one. Not necessarily like Duncan Robinson shooting on the move, but more so pick-and-pop. Just make sure like the shots that I am gonna have to make this upcoming season, because teams are going to run me off, teams are going to be heavily contested, so, that’s one. Defensively, I want to improve on guarding actions, like screening actions. Whether that’s off-ball or on.
Because I do a great job in isolation, I want to improve, say I’m guarding Steph [Curry] or Trae Young coming off the screen and being able to negotiate and navigate those screens. And then the last thing is my finishing at the rim, whether that’s through floaters or touch shots, you know. Where, those in between shots so if I’m not getting all the way to the rim for a layup, being able to have that in my arsenal,” Williams told Simone.
Last season, Williams ranked in the 91st percentile for finishes at the rim, converting 73% of his looks, in the 87th percentile for his corner-three point shooting, hitting 47%, and 92nd percentile for overall three-point shooting, courtesy of his 41% conversion rate. However, Williams struggled from the floater range (between 4 and 14 feet from the basket) hitting just 35% of his attempts – so it would make sense that’s an area he is looking to improve.
Williams Has Hilarious Interaction With Ime Udoka
Since entering the league as the 22nd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Grant Williams has become known for his love of gaming, and his talkative nature. So, it came as no surprise when the young combo-forward decided to start his own Twitch channel.
During an August 6 stream, Williams decided it would be entertaining to call some of his Celtics teammates and coaches, just to see what they were doing and provide the viewers with some unique content. One of the calls Williams made was to head coach Ime Udoka, where Williams tried to get him to play some online games.
“Nah I don’t like that. I’ll continue getting ready for Call of Duty. Not at all, I’ve gotta watch too much film on y’all,” Udoka said after Williams asked him if he wanted to play Fall Guys.
The fact that Udoka is spending the off-season re-watching film on his team, and planning on ways they can improve, is incredibly encouraging. But hopefully, we will eventually see him and Williams go head-to-head on some Call of Duty – maybe after they lift a championship!