BOSTON — Derrick White caught the ball twice on the weaker side and drove a three-point play against Kawhi Leonard, behind the arc as the Clippers doubled Jayson Tatum and made an important play. He found Grant Williams on the to cap off a 116-110 win.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” he said. “You’re only announced first. That’s the only difference.”
Robert Williams III did his part by pouring 12 points around the rim, grabbing six rebounds and blocking shots as Al Horford and the starting pitchers closed out the game. His replacement from the bench garnered a standing ovation nightly from the TD Garden crowd.
Both said they were fine with whatever role they played to close out the year. He shoots 80.8% of his shots on his 26 shooting attempts, grabs his nearly four rebounds each on offense and defense, and makes 8 of 10 free throws. The Celtics had an ERA of 107.2 while he outscored opponents with 11.8 points per 100 possessions.
Williams III played 21 minutes in the final game of the homestand. This is in line with his average since returning from knee surgery in September, playing a burst of about 7:30 in the first half to cap off his final five minutes and his final two minutes of the first half. I was. The first four in Q3 and the first four in Q4. He gave about four minutes after the frame. They are longer bursts that indicate conditioning progress.
‘S***, they look at me and ask if I’m okay,’ said Williams III CLNS media/celticsblog After Thursday’s win. “Basically, they check on me every two minutes while I’m out and ask if I’m okay. I’m not going out. Like I said. , I feel great, I feel great after the dub, and I feel like we’re defensively back together.
Head coach Joe Mazura is clear on whether Williams III will finally return to the starting lineup and reunite with last year’s best-in-the-league line-up of Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Horford. He scored 118.8 points per 100 possessions, a historic record of 117.3 points this season.
Damon Stoudamire said Thursday, “We’ve been given time for him to play, medically. We just play it. For me, seeing Rob get better every game. I think in the last game he was able to play more consistent time, more time and that was a big thing for him. I think the most important thing is that he needs to be comfortable.”
Williams III never complained of pain or setbacks, just battling a non-COVID illness last weekend, much like many of the roster experienced in December. The brace he’s wearing on his left knee hasn’t bothered him as much as he might have expected, with only conditioning really holding him back in the weeks around his return in early December.Williams Sansei tries to hold his breath at the free-throw line, but doesn’t stop the game even after a long stretch of play.
It’s worth wondering if the Celtics will play double big or five outs more often once he reaches perfection. Mazura praises Boston’s ability to do both, but most games require one or the other to win. Horford and Williams III share 5.6 minutes per game on the floor, compared to his 14.9 minutes last year when the Celtics won by 13.2 points per 100 possessions. They recorded his defensive rating of a staggering 89.3 in his February.
Horford believes the Celtics can regain their defensive identity once Williams III returns, rising to seventh overall and first with a 107.6 rating since his first game. They are trying to balance an offense that has dropped to 19th place this month, with Williams III adjusting to a more complex screening his game in recent weeks and a faster pace and emphasis on spacing leading to a small setback. I am improving because I have done my part.
White already has that feeling, he doesn’t care whether he starts or sits, he did both last season, and he’s likely getting backcourt time in case of injury or rest. He’s a better screener than Williams III, but Horford’s shooting and passing has the ability to make 70% of Brown and Tatum visible at the rim and run. White’s net his rating of +12.1 leads the team, offensively his rating is 118.2 and defensively his rating is 106.1.
“Are you going to[start robbing]?” Mazura asked when did he think the reporter would finally do so. “I think it comes down to what is best for our team at that point and what is best for him. We’re gaining flexibility, but we’ve found that the current state has some consistency, if not, it doesn’t have anything to do with (Rob’s health). It’s what’s best for the team and where we are.”
