Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors goes up for a layup against Jaylen Brown #7 and Robert Williams III #44 of the Boston Celtics.
Though Robert Williams just now finds himself getting reincorporated into a Boston Celtics rotation that boasts the league’s second-best record of 22-9 and is widely considered a favorite to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy come the conclusion of this season, his attributes have been severely missed during these early stages of the season.
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Coming off of a breakout 2021-22 campaign, the man known as Time Lord went on to establish himself as one of the elite young bigs in the game today and, in turn, helped guide the club to their first NBA Finals berth in over a decade, facing off against the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.
Now, as he begins to ease his way back into his post-knee surgery phase of play, one NBA executive believes that his ultimate mission will be to help improve the Celtics’ slumping defensive unit, as they told Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney that the team’s efforts on the less glamorous side of the ball have proven to be sup-par thus far into the season.
“They need him to rescue their defense,” the exec told Deveney. “I mean, that is asking a lot but it is pretty much what they’re doing. They’re such a good offensive team but they have let the defense sort of die on the vine there, and I think one of the things they were looking at was, ‘Well, it will all be OK when Rob gets back.’ OK, but you still have to go out and defend with some intensity and they do not always do that.”
Despite their early-season surge, the Celtics have found themselves in a grueling slump as of late, as they’ve dropped four of their last five outings and are amid a two-game losing streak which, ironically, are the only games Williams has suited up for this season so far.
However, even with their recent struggles with the big man back in the lineup, once he’s fully adjusted and shakes some of his rust off, it’s safe to assume that his talents will go on to help improve Boston’s play, particularly on the defensive end.
Celtics Boast an Elite Defense With Williams
To say the Boston Celtics have proven to be a poor defensive club this season would be quite an exaggerated statement, as they still rank as the eighth-best unit in the league through 31 games played.
That said, when considering how stellar they were on that end of the court last season and, more specifically, when Robert Williams was found manning the middle for them, their fall in the ranks could be viewed as a tad bit upsetting for C’s fans to see.
Boston finished the 2021-22 campaign off with the highest defensive rating in the entire league at 106.2, while Time Lord finished with the club’s top individual defensive rating of 102.
Players are shooting 6.4% worse than their normal FG% when guarded by Robert Williams.
That negative difference is the biggest by any defender with 500+ shots defended this season.
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On top of this, the center finished second in the league in blocks per game (2.2), sixth in defensive field-goal percentage when within five feet of both the shooter and the rim (50.7), and finished in the top 10 of last year’s Defensive Player of the Year race that, ultimately, was bestowed to his teammate, Marcus Smart.
A healthy Robert Williams has already proven to do wonders for this Boston Celtics team in the past and now, with him back in the fold, their play on defense may soon find itself catching up with their top-billed level of play on offense.
Celtics Guard Not Interested in Individual Accolades
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Malcolm Brogdon may take pride in serving as one of the key contributors for this year’s Celtics team, as he’s amid one of the best campaigns of his seven-year career and is found leading the team’s seventh-ranked bench unit, but, as far as individual accolades are concerned, it appears the point guard wants no part in them.
“For me, that’s not important at all…Like I really don’t care about that award at all. I really want to win with this team. I came here to win a championship, to put up Banner 18. That accolade really means nothing. I want to win,” Brogdon told NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg during an exclusive interview.
Malcolm Brogdon. Team guy. #Celtics
Brogdon has been an absolute gem for the Celtics through his first 26 games played with the franchise and, as a result, is viewed as a legitimate threat to take home the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award come season’s end.
Since he arrived in Boston this past summer, the veteran has managed to work his way into becoming an elite two-way difference maker for Joe Mazzula’s squad and finds himself boasting averages of 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 48.6% from the field and 46.2% from deep.
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Celtics Shortcomings Put on Notice by Exec: They’ve Let it ‘Die on the Vine’