There has been more than a little guesswork about how good of a team the Boston Celtics can be without their Defensive Player of the Year-caliber big man Robert Williams III. In some circles, the step down for the Celtics is seen as minimal, and that camp would point to Boston’s solid start without the Texas A&M alum.
But others suggest that Boston might have started even stronger with him available to play, and still other great basketball minds can’t see the Celtics as a bonafide title contender in his absence. Among such persons, we can include an anonymous executive of an opposing ball club who recently spoke with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett about such a prospect.
“They still should be better on defense than they are now, but I don’t think people realize how much Robert Williams means to them,” they explained.
Boston’s Robert Williams III reportedly on track for 8-to-12 week return timetable https://t.co/W72r84t80l
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 5, 2022
“Let me put it this way,” opined the anonymous NBA exec, “without Rob Williams, they’re a very good team, but they’re in that second tier.”
“With Rob Williams, they’re a top defense and a championship-level team. That’s what he does for them.”
Boston native Shabazz Napier on the Celtics, friendship with Kemba Walker, Noah Vonleh https://t.co/EvWto7zPvw
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 4, 2022
“Look, the NBA is two things right now — 3-pointers and shots at the rim,” observed another unnamed league source.
“That’s what everyone’s going for. Every team is setting up its defense to try to take away the 3. What Williams does is take away the paint. There’s not many rim protectors like him in the league. And the fact that he’s able to defend out to the line makes him even more valuable, because they do so much switching.”
“You can’t take a guy like that out of your lineup and think it’s not going to have a major effect on you,” they added.
A recent article by HoopsHype put together a review of the biggest salary drops from one season to the next, and more than one Boston alumnus made an appearance https://t.co/Sj9ScrKdEX
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 5, 2022
“Williams forgives a lot of their mistakes, but with him out, their margin for error on defense is so much smaller,” they suggested, and thus far we have seen the effects, even with the team possessing a deeper bench and more experience.
The Celtics should be in great shape once Timelord returns to the fold, but an all-around retrenchment on the defensive end of the court is still in order given the big man’s injury history.
Celtics Lab 152: Navigating Boston’s ‘big’ cap concerns with Yossi Gozlan https://t.co/Qd6djF5kze
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 4, 2022
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
