Robert Williams

Some would argue Robert Williams' injury is a crushing blow to the Celtics. But Marcus Smart believes this team is well-equipped to handle its latest injury ...

We had the advantage to be able to adjust and play without certain guys. The numbers are not particularly encouraging without Robert Williams. But the Celtics have rarely let injuries defeat them. The past 11 weeks have proven that. That is definitely a hit to us but we know Rob wouldn't want us to hold our heads and we aren't going to do that. But Smart couldn’t help but shrug it off on Monday night in Toronto as the Celtics braced for being without one of its defensive anchors to start the postseason. But the Celtics will not sit here and feel bad for themselves. But it did shuffle Boston out of the top spot. "[The final stretch] will be crucial," said Udoka. "Take a look at some different things. There are rainbows in the distance. It was Hayward’s foot and Kemba Walker’s knee that halted Boston’s hopes of a bubble title in 2020. That’s my motto," said Smart. "That’s how I grew up. He was around when Isaiah Thomas’ hip wouldn’t let him continue in 2017.

Robert Williams' injury couldn't have come at a worse time, but there could certainly have been worse circumstances. Imagine what sort of mess the Boston ...

After setting a screen, the big man would work to get his defender on his hip before calling for a pocket pass and then attacking the lane. You could see the Celtics were aware of the danger zones when guarding Toronto, which dictated that Theis spent the bulk of his defensive possessions either playing in drop or pinching in from the wings, but that didn’t stop him from closing out - or stunting - on shooters when the ball found itself being kicked back out to the perimeter. When covering for somebody, in any type of job, it’s easy to try and mimic what your counterpart does, especially in the opening shifts. So, Theis will stunt or contest, but it’s rare we’re going to see him attempt blocks on the perimeter. Nobody is asking Theis to replicate what Williams provides the team, simply because it’s not possible to fulfill such a request, but rest assured, new wrinkles will form within the Celtics offense over the coming weeks, creases that rely on versatility. However, we did get a timely reminder that the fifth-year big man is a capable defender, both around the rim and on the perimeter.

Celtics center Robert Williams suffered a torn meniscus Sunday and will miss at least several weeks.

Boston moved into first place in the Eastern Conference on Sunday, and Williams, 24, has been an immense part of a dominant league-best defense. The Celtics said an update will be provided later in the week. Only Williams has held opponents under 40% shooting.

The Celtics may be without Robert Williams for the duration of their playoff run. Here's how they'll adjust.

As much as the Celtics will miss the Timelord, Williams is plenty capable of holding his own amongst the starters, including at the end of games. As good as the East is, Boston should still comport itself as one of the league's best defenses. The Celtics may have to advance past the first two rounds again for Williams to rejoin the fold. Offensively, Williams is knocking down 42.1 percent of the 3.4 threes he's hoisting per game, which ranks sixth among those taking at least two shots from beyond the arc per contest and have played in a minimum of 50 games, per NBA.com. He's also an effective facilitator, and he's starting to make more plays off the dribble. Moving him to the role of free safety so he could rotate to protect the rim more often while also having the ability to close out on corner shooters elevated the top-ranked defense. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Williams suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee, sidelining him indefinitely.

The Celtics got some very tough news on the Robert Williams injury front, as the big man reportedly has a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Williams has emerged as one of Boston's most important players on both ends of the floor amid a breakout fourth season. He's averaging a near double-double (10.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game) and is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with 2.2 blocks per game. It's unclear what exactly caused Williams' injury, but the 24-year-old exited Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter and was in "quite a bit of pain," head coach Ime Udoka said.

For a Celtics fanbase scarred by the horrific double-big lineup of Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis, watching lineups with Horford and Williams outscore ...

We don’t know how long Williams will be out, and the Celtics will miss him immensely for at least part of their playoff run. He is second on the team in on/off impact (minimum 200 possessions) — the Celtics are 7.6 points better with Williams on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass. Offensively, Williams is a game-breaking lob threat. Horford is tied for 8th in defense per RAPTOR (FiveThirtyEight’s project), and he’s No. 1 in the NBA in D-LEBRON — a stat that measures defensive impact per 100 possessions — ahead of both Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green. Losing Williams is tough, but it might not be quite the death knell it would have been in November or December. In his limited minutes at center this season, the offense was a wreck but the defense shined. Take Robert Williams off the floor, and the Celtics’ defense unquestionably gets worse. Still, some mitigating factors exist, including the addition of Derrick White. A lineup with Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Brown, Tatum, and Horford has played just 13 possessions together per Cleaning the Glass, but it’s not difficult to imagine that group becoming a defensive juggernaut. He and Robert Williams are both +2.3 in defensive estimated plus/minus (an adjusted version of the box score stat), which is 95th percentile league-wide. He will miss “several” weeks at least per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and he could miss significantly more (the Celtics promised an update later in the week). Meniscus tears are notoriously volatile — sometimes a player comes back in a matter of weeks, which could have Williams back on the court by the second round of the playoffs, and sometimes a player misses months. This is (of course) a blow to the Celtics’ for a host of reasons. Sure enough, the Celtics confirmed on Monday afternoon that Williams suffered a torn meniscus. So when Williams left Sunday’s game with a foreboding “knee sprain” according to the Celtics, anyone paying attention braced for bad news.

Williams left Sunday's game against Minnesota in the third quarter with the injury. He is averaging 10 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this season. He's ...

Jared Weiss Boston is 24-5 since Jan. 23 and will face the East-leading Heat on Wednesday night. Boston Celtics center Robert Williams underwent surgery Wednesday after tearing his meniscus in his left knee Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced.

One of the blander moves of this year's NBA trade deadline was the Boston Celtics bringing back Daniel Theis, whom they traded to Houston at the 2021 ...

There would be a lot of factors in play for this to happen, many of which are out of Boston's control. That said, the Celtics dropped from the No. 1 seed to No. 4 by virtue of their overtime loss to Toronto on Monday, and that might be a good thing. Boston could end up No. 1 and Miami lands at No. 4, or vice versa, or they could end up as the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in some order. Long story short, Williams' injury might make the Celtics rethink whether they want to be one of the top two seeds. Now, it would surely behoove the Celtics to create the most advantageous matchups they can through the first few rounds in hopes that the longer they stay alive, the more time they give Williams to recover. To me, without Williams, priority number one becomes avoiding the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. But again, being one of the top two seeds brings a potential first-round matchup with Brooklyn into play. He'll have surgery and is optimistic that he'll be able to return at some point in the playoffs. But the road is definitely going to be tougher. Before the Williams injury, I don't think the Celtics cared who they played or when they played them. Again, Grant doesn't provide Robert's athleticism as a shot blocker or rolling finisher, but importantly he allows the Celtics to keep with their switching defensive principles. When the postseason rolls around, Ime Udoka could elect to start Theis alongside Al Horford to keep Boston's two-big lineup in place, but I don't think he does that.

The Boston Celtics got some deflating news on the Robert Williams injury front Monday morning.

Williams has emerged as one of Boston's most important players on both ends of the floor amid a breakout fourth season. The Celtics said in a statement Monday that a further update regarding treatment and recovery for Williams will be provided later in the week. The Boston Celtics got some deflating news on the Robert Williams injury front Monday morning.