When Jayson Tatum came off a Daniel Theis screen late in the first half and saw Washington’s Daniel Gafford with a foot in the paint, he whipped a pass to the corner. Standing there, as he has all season, was Grant Williams, ready to catch and fire.
For most of the season, that shot falling for Williams was so much of a given that he earned the nickname “corner office.” However, things changed a bit for him over the past month. He shot 31% on 3-pointers in March and just 27.5% after the All-Star break. He’s still shooting 41% overall, good for 16th in the NBA, it’s a drop from his 44.6% shooting from deep before the All-Star break, which would be second in the league right now.
“We're not worried with Grant, it's pretty simple thing, catch-and-shoot,” Ime Udoka said after the blowout win over Washington. “Get good looks that we feel he's going to knock down. … Stay confident, move the ball and take the right shots and most likely we'll live with the result. They are getting great looks like we did tonight.”
Williams caught Tatum’s pass at the end of the first quarter and drained it in Gafford’s face. He did the same in the second and fourth quarters, giving Al Horford a couple of easy assists. And then for good measure, he stepped above the break for a fourth 3-pointer to cap his night.
“Yeah. It was just, you’ve gotta keep shooting,” Williams said. “This is my first time really going through it as much as I have this year, so it’s just a matter of keep being confident, letting those things fly.”
He’s let them fly enough that opponents have gotten the message.
“Teams are defending him different at the 3-point line,” Udoka said. “They are clearly running him off where he wasn't getting looks for awhile. Any time you are shooting above 40, you start to get that reputation.”
That reputation is part of what’s new to Grant. Suddenly, other teams care that he has the ball behind the line.
“I feel like I went through it all this season. You start off, guys are daring you to shoot. Not even halfway through, guys are like getting there, closing out,” Williams said. “Then after that they’re like, ‘All right, get him off the line.’ So it’s just a matter of making the right decision each time. Because you’re going to see different coverages as time goes on. You might get open ones, those are the ones you make. You might get (tighter coverage), it’s just making the right decision, continuing to grow. And that’s one of the biggest things for me this season.”
His ability to actually put the ball on the floor and make a play is part of his progression as an offensive player. It hasn’t always gone perfectly, but it’s something Williams feels comfortable doing.
“I feel like that’s what I used to do. Something that’s more natural. Because collegiately and everything else, you’re the one that everyone’s attention is on,” he said “So for me, the playmaking aspect of it is a little bit easier, but I feel like the scoring aspect of it I’ve gotten better with as the year has gone on, whether it’s just finishing at the rim. There’s definitely been kind of ups and downs.”
There is no more time for downs when the calendar turns to April. With three games left on the schedule, this is the time to be hitting a groove. The figuring out part should be over. Williams getting back into sniper form would be a very welcome development for the Celtics, who will need all the shooting they can get come playoff time.
Defenses tighten in the postseason, and whistles tend to get swallowed, and the paint gets packed. Boston doesn’t have a lot of shooting at their disposal, so the few guys who do make the rotation need to be locked in when Game 1 against whomever rolls around.
Williams caught a groove against the Wizards, and was joined by Derrick White and Payton Pritchard in a very welcome, albeit rare, occurrence. The Celtics will need all three to hit shots, but Pritchard’s shot is the most pure, and White does so many other things that he can still help even when he’s off.
Williams is the spot-up guy. He has the most specific offensive role of the bench guys likely to make the playoff rotation. This is his biggest responsibility on offense.
“The thing with him,” Udoka said, “is mainly make the right play. Whether it's a pass or drive or don't try to do too much. Catch and shoot when you can or make a play behind. Teams recognize what he's doing, the way he's shooting especially out of the corner and they are running him off or staying locked up to him. Tonight, he got the looks and knocked those down.”