After falling to the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors without the services of Boston Celtics big man Robert Williams III available due to his torn left lateral meniscus, questioning whether the Celtics can legitimately be called contenders is a perfectly valid position.
Clearly a major part of the NBA’s No. 1 defense, the Celtics have not quite been their usual stout selves without the Texas A&M product. But is there enough time for them to find a new groove sans the Timelord to help secure the rim as a roaming free safety of sorts, as it were? Their postseason success very well may depend upon it, and given the organization familiarity of the other main big men on the roster in Al Horford and Daniel Theis, we should not jump to conclusions.
Still, it’s hard not to lower the team’s ceiling considerably in the absence of Williams.
