Getty Robert Williams, Boston Celtics
As both the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat returned to the court for the second quarter of game five in the Eastern Conference finals, there was one player missing from Boston’s bench.
Robert Williams has been in and out of the rotation due to knee swelling over the past few weeks, but had been cleared to participate in the May 25 contest and had taken part in the first half of the game. Yet, for some reason, Grant Williams started the second half, with the team’s primary rim protector nowhere in sight.
Grant said he started the 3rd because Rob was in the bathroom😂
“He was in the bathroom, I think. So, I had to say ‘I’m good to go, throw me in there’ and we started off the quarter right…And Rob came back in at the six-minute mark, seven-minute mark,” Williams told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin after the game.
Luckily, Robert Williams returned to the floor and continued to be an impactful member of the rotation, despite earlier fears that he may miss the second half of a game that dictated which team stole the momentum for the series. In 26 minutes of play, Williams contributed six points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots while also altering countless attempts at the rim and providing excellent passing and screening on the offensive end of the floor.
Udoka Wants Celtics to Limit Mistakes
Despite winning their last two games, it’s clear the Celtics are playing a little loose with the ball. Throughout game five, the Heat continuously hounded Boston on the glass and ended the contest with 19 offensive rebounds to their name, which had the game been closer, could have been a deciding factor.
Of course, the bigger issue for the Celtics is how often they’re turning the ball over on offense, and to start game five, the same issues reared their head again. In the first half of the May 25 contest, Boston lost control of the rock 10 times with Jaylen Brown responsible for four of the loose balls, leading Ime Udoka to reiterate the team’s need to be more consistent with their playmaking heading into game six.
“We weren’t playing our best in the first half, in a lot of ways. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Too many turnovers, offensive rebounds, second-chance points – thing’s that we’ve emphasized. With that being said, they had 47 points at the half. We felt we were in good shape if we just cleaned up the turnovers, limit them…small things like that helped get some of our guys going offensively,” Udoka told reporters after the game.
Tatum Aims to Keep Celtics Focused
Against the Milwaukee Bucks, it was Boston who headed into a game six trailing the series three-two, eventually overcoming the odds to defeat the reigning champions in a seven-game series. Now, the Celtics find themselves in Milwaukee’s shoes and will be looking to avoid making similar mistakes and close out the conference finals on their home court.
Speaking to the media following the Celtics game five win, Jayson Tatum shared a message that’s circulating throughout Boston’s locker room in the hope that it keeps everybody focused on the task at hand.
“The mindset and the talk that we had after the game was that we were down three-two last time (against the Milwaukee Bucks), and we had to go on the road and win a game six, and we did it. We can’t think that it’s over with. We need to go back home like we’re down three-two,” Tatum told reporters.
If the Celtics can remain healthy throughout game six on May 27, and execute their game plan at a high level, they could progress on to the NBA Finals. Still, the Heat are no pushovers and will come out swinging, so if the Celtics continue to make mistakes, they could be forced to play a game seven back in Miami, and at that point, it’s anybody’s ball game.