The opportunity knocked on the door for Robert Williams after the Celtics swapped their pivot Daniel Theis ahead of Thursday’s negotiation deadline and the third-year pivot answered the call with one of the best performances of his career in Friday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Usually, Williams makes his biggest impact on the offensive end of the court with his finishing ability around the rim, but he shone more on this on the defensive end against what was the NBA’s hottest team (eight consecutive wins) before the impressive victory of Friday through Boston. Williams was an imposing defensive presence in his first start of the season, accumulating five blocks and two steals in his 27 minutes, captaining a Boston defense that had been unhappy (27th in the NBA) since the All-Star Break.
Milwaukee managed to get his 3s open yet, but Williams provided a solid layer of projection around the rim, giving it the weak side and altering the layup attempts that forced Bucks to make some point-blank mistakes.
“Rob can impact the edge, but if you make him spin around your guy, the teams are good enough to jump and throw him on the big dunker or they are good enough to jump and put their eyes on the edge, and hit the curves, ”said Brad Stevens. “This is how we were sprayed a few times on individual units. So it’s good to have guys who can block shots there. “
Offensively, Williams didn’t shoot much, but his impact was fantastic, as the rest of Boston’s five starters were on fire from the 3-point streak. He scored nine points out of 3 out of 5 field shots, but he also set his career record with six assists, making strong reads from the high post, which created easy looks for his teammates. This vision, combined with zero turnovers, helped Boston reach new heights in the second half, with 43 points, the best of the season, in the third quarter.
“He has to create a great synergy with the beginners when it comes to opening them up, and getting the right look and that sort of thing,” said Stevens. “I thought he did a great job tonight. Listen, he is clearly our best big that is here. It is not a hit on Mo or Luke. He is ahead of both. We will cross all the other bridges when we get there. “
For now, Williams is a Boston starter by default, with Tristan Thompson still in the health and safety protocols of the NBA and Theis set to debut at the Bulls next week. However, the Celtics are eyeing some big names in the acquisition market, including former Cavs center pioneer Andre Drummond, with whom the team met on Friday, according to a source.
The Celtics have a great deal for Drummond, given the fact that they have a starting job to win at the center, but Williams’ game against Bucks on Friday is an interesting question about whether Drummond is the best for the five starters , whether he actually chooses Boston over a number of other suitors (LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Brooklyn, New York). Drummond offers much more volume than Williams, but young Celtic saw little chance in his career of playing big minutes. Taking that away from him for a possible rental in Drummond could be a mistake.
However, Boston’s signing of Drummond does not necessarily mean that the Celtics have to start him or even give him the 20-25 minutes per Williams game. Tristan Thompson remains outside the NBA’s health and safety protocols and his return schedule is not yet clear. His lackluster game in the first 40 games of the year could end up making him the odd man on the central rotation if Drummond were hired, as this duo would have a set of redundant skills we saw together last year in Cleveland, when briefly played together after the negotiation deadline.
No matter what happens to Drummond, Williams is making a strong case for an initial extended case for himself, although Brad Stevens is committed to nothing but the short term.
“I feel like I did what I was put there to do,” said Williams. “I feel that I exerted a lot of energy with me and my teammates. This is my job. That’s what this is about. “
It remains to be seen if this is enough to earn him his job for a long time, but the five Celtics starters played their best street basketball game in months on Friday night. Consistency is the next step for Williams and the rest of the squad, but the case for developing Williams with the starters got stronger on Friday night, no matter who ends up with a Celtic uniform outside the procurement market.
“I said from the start, getting in there, getting more minutes is a blessing,” said Williams. “This is how I see it. You have to enjoy. If you don’t take advantage of that, you’re missing out. “