Robert Williams III ranked third in Boston's big man hierarchy in the NBA Bubble when the Celtics reached the east finals against the Miami Heat. Bam Adebayo inflicted foul trouble on starting center Daniel Theis, and Brad Stevens would look down his bench toward Grant Williams to play the five before his second-year big man filled with burst and potential, but lacking discipline. Grant saw the Celtics teaching Williams III the fundamentals in 2020 to pair with his nearly unmatched defensive tools.
"I just remember making sure (Williams III) keeps his hands back, making sure that he moves his feet," Grant Williams told Boston Sports Journal on the court after practice following Game 3. "The technique of everything. I feel like originally he was just out there making plays. Sometimes he was foul-prone. Now, it's like he knows exactly where he needs to be, does a great job staying between the ball and the basket. He just provides that safety net for us, because there's times where we get blown by, like (in Game 3) Steph blew by me and I was like, 'that's a layup.' Next thing you know I look up and Rob's in the air, 12 feet, and it's like, 'oh wow, good block.' That's something I really appreciate about him."
Two years later the Celtics turned toward an injured Williams III to begin the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the NBA Finals for switching on the perimeter and received the best version of their disciplined defensive force, whose presence helped Boston outscore opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions during the regular season. They're asking Williams III to do more than ever before, play through pain and swelling in his left knee, provide his disruptive deterrent role inside and, amid a Steph Curry onslaught, guard higher and factor into the switching scheme Ime Udoka began ramping up in Game 3 as an adjustment following a volcanic third quarter from the former MVP.
Weeks after being unable to play in Game 3 against Miami, Williams III now stands as the last line of defense between the Warriors and the basket, with Curry only needing a tiny pocket to unleash shots from close to half court. The Celtics aren't a blitzing team, they haven't done that all year and that carries its own pitfalls against Golden State, so they're fortunate to have the switching system they've built. It wouldn't be possible without Williams III's growth.
He would fly out of bounds and take himself out of plays and games by fouling as recently as one year ago while guarding the perimeter. It's still a difficult place to put any center in against Curry, as a source told BSJ this week affirming that the team is indeed dropping on some plays, with Boston leaning on its guards so far in this series to navigate Golden State's difficult and unpredictable screening activity and stay attached to Curry. The Celtics' loss on Friday in Game 4, where Curry hit 7-of-14 from three, saw a need for big man involvement late.
It's difficult to say Williams III and Al Horford have dropped against Curry's threes when they're standing on the three-point line sometimes. The paint drops are an unthinkable approach against the greatest shooter of all time, but higher ones had contained Golden State, preventing four-on-three advantages behind the traps and limited the Warriors' other players from getting going. The cost: 50% shooting from the field and 49% three-point shooting on 12.8 attempts per game from Curry. He averaged 34.3 points per game through the first four games of the NBA Finals, including a classic 43-point outburst to tie the series 2-2 with a 107-97 win.
"We have (adjusted)," Udoka said in reply to a question from BSJ post-game. "It's not a stagnant offense that (the Warriors) run ... obviously have some movement prior to it and some off-ball actions that get our guys off the big some, but we do want to be up much more. And at times, especially on the hand backs and certain actions, it's a little different from the static pick-and-roll."
The Celtics switched more late in Game 3 and 4 to keep actions in front of them, moving Williams III to the perimeter with direct responsibility to contest shots. On a late look for Klay Thompson in Game 3, Udoka had unleashed on his big man from the sideline, who thought he was playing high enough. Boston began the series inexplicably mis-communicating switches and freeing Curry for six open 3-pointers in the first quarter of the eventual Celtics win.
Williams III struggled in that game with knee pain, Theis helped stagger his teammate's minutes at the five spot by getting out on the perimeter in Game 2 and realizing himself how high you need to guard screens when Curry hit a 3 around a screen four steps behind the 3-point line. He said Boston can't lose sleep over those makes.
Theis exited the rotation in Game 3 and Williams III ramped up his workload, aided by multiple days off in this series and round-the-clock treatment, stepping up to aggressively to challenge Golden State's pick-and-roll and getting a key deflection to begin the fourth quarter. Williams III presents the greatest stylistic mismatch for the Warriors, bringing significant size and athleticism Golden State doesn't have in its core rotation.
Williams III's offensive rebounding effort further disrupted the Warriors' ability to pile up stops and turn defense into offense. By Game 4, the Celtics turned to him to defend in space against Jordan Poole and Curry's screens and Williams III fell flat-footed far below the screen before getting beat by Curry on a switch. He's capable of running Boston's defense, but given the diminishing returns of playing Williams III extended minutes the team turned toward Horford late in Friday's loss.
"Just (Williams III) being patient, reading the game, it comes with experience," Theis told BSJ at practice addressing Williams III's growth. "Playing as many games as possible, staying healthy and everybody from day one knew how his upside is, how talented he is, how athletic he is. It just took some time, staying healthy, it's coming from playing games, minutes, experience, that's how it works. I learned from Al a lot, in-game, just talking to him, so I always talk to Rob trying to help him in every way. Whatever I see on the court, we talk about it. I'm a little older than him, I've got a little more experience, and he always was a great listener. Whoever tried to talk to him and help him out, he was always a great listener willing to learn. Then, you see, four years later after he got drafted, it wasn't an easy journey with injuries and a lot of stuff, but now everybody sees who he is, what he's capable of doing, especially on the defensive end."
These Finals haven't marked the full Williams III effect, his burst becoming a jog after 31 minutes on Friday, the center day-to-day with a knee ailment his coach described as more mental than physical. Teammates, including Marcus Smart, urged Williams III on, pushing him through any doubt or worries about his career following his first major surgery and a bone bruise in the same knee that followed. A blow from Smart further spooked Williams III in Game 2, Udoka said, while Horford and Tatum have both emphasized the crucial role Williams III plays on the team. They'll take 20% of him and they've received more, but without the luxury of knowing when that could turn toward less. Udoka acknowledged Williams III playing 30 minutes could have drawbacks that carry into the next game. Two days off before Game 5 help.
Williams III took mid-season comments from Udoka to the team about playing through pain to heart and pushed to come back earlier than expected from meniscus surgery, piling up 15 points, 22 rebounds, four assists, four steals and six blocks over the past two games. Udoka turned toward shorter, more impactful Williams III stints at the beginning of each half of Game 3. Where the Warriors called out that Williams III couldn't move early in Game 2, they saw the opposite when he backed up Grant with his block of Curry's floater into the front row three nights later. He also cut off the left wing, forcing Curry to step back and hit a long shot over Grant for his only bucket of that fourth quarter in that loss. It's a difficult matchup, Williams' main assignment Andrew Wiggins hardly the stationary wing Williams III had been able to play off of earlier in the postseason. Movement defines Golden State.
"I think (Williams III) was always a high-level, pretty instinctual guy," Udoka said to a question from BSJ. "Some things that we've asked him to do have been different than he's had to do throughout his career, just off the top of the amount of switching and perimeter play, but he is a guy who can do it. I've played against him in two playoff series in Philadelphia and Brooklyn, and saw the impact he had on those series, a guy we wanted to keep out of a lot of actions. Obviously the rim protection stands out, but his ability to move his feet on the perimeter and the luxury of having him off the ball at times and having the luxury of having him off the ball at times and allowing Al to be our normal five benefited our team. So very multi-dimensional defender, has really good instincts and I would say the modern NBA center. A little undersized that can move his feet, guard on the perimeter, guard in the post."
Curry and the Warriors' actions have torn at the fabric of Boston's defense, which emphasizes erasing paint touches and stopping inside scoring, by spacing the floor out. The Celtics held Golden State to under 100 points per 100 possessions in the half court through three games. Curry's threat continues to garner more attention though, as Boston can less often live with timely runs that squander leads in the second half. Udoka sent double teams in rotation effectively late in Game 3, before failing three nights later. The onus fell on defending the post, and with Williams III switched away from the basket the Warriors grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, led by Wiggins against mismatches.
The Celtics, who looked like the winter version of themselves offensively while turning the ball over and settling for jump shots late in Game 4, also went back to basics on the switching that hampered them early this season. While Udoka's system proved a perfect one for Smart, and one Williams III could adapt into, it continues to challenge Jaylen Brown to stay locked in off the ball. Similar lapses from Smart and White have hurt the Celtics as much as big men dropping.
Udoka's commentary earlier in the series about how Brown had been used to locking in on one assignment rang true when he fell face guarding Curry off-ball. Having this system and switching experience, with big men who can patrol the three-point line on defense, will benefit Boston needing two wins out of three now to secure a championship. They're also asking for more than ever from a player who they've simply asked to get on the floor to this point.
"It starts with the communication," Udoka said. "But you look at the personnel across the board, and not a lot of weaknesses in terms of size and versatility, and you've got to have it. In years past, it's been more offensive-minded guys here and some smaller guys. To have a big point guard who's physical, big wings and then undersized-ish bigs that are versatile, it all plays into it. Communication is the first thing. A lot of guys are not used to it, were not used to it early, some guys did it more naturally. Took a little time, but I think guys bought into it fairly quickly and we had success pretty much off the bat early in the season when we were healthy."
Here's what else happened in the NBA this week...
Atlanta: The Athletic explored a Rudy Gobert to the Hawks deal, which may make more sense than any other for the big man. Atlanta owns all its future picks and has struggled enough to convince the Jazz those selections could fuel a mini reset around Donovan Mitchell. The Hawks need a defensive anchor to clean up some of the pitfalls to building around Trae Young. Atlanta also has the salaries to reach Gobert's nearly $40-million that'd need to be matched in a deal. Would Utah hold out for De'Andre Hunter? That could be the piece that makes or breaks a deal -- and he is extension-eligible. A splash of this magnitude feels inevitable here.
Boston (tied 2-2 vs. Golden State): Jayson Tatum is off, now sporting a 15.4 turnover percentage this postseason, slightly better than the high-usage, ball-dominant guards like James Harden and Chris Paul, but up from his 11 TOV% mark during the regular season. It's not rocket science, Tatum said, after the Celtics' Game 2 loss where 15 live ball giveaways led to 33 points for the Warriors. Golden State racked up 16 more for 19 points in Game 4, six coming from Tatum before he shot 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter. The Celtics utilized Marcus Smart and Derrick White effectively to get Tatum looks closer to the basket. He's squandering those too, though, now converting only 27.4% of his two-pointers in this series. Lining up defenders one-on-one in crunch time allowed Draymond Green to set himself on the back line and deter shots, forcing Boston into nine straight jump shots to close out the game, making only two. It's a thin line between historic triumph or leaving this season with questions remaining about this team's frustrating tendencies. The Celtics are now 1-6 when they commit 15 or more turnovers.
Charlotte: Reportedly hiring Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, the adept offensive schemer who led the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-2020 to a 118-190 record. Atkinson raised D'Angelo Russell, Joe Harris, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen's games in the aftermath of the infamous Nets-Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade. He implemented a shooting-heavy offense with rapid ball movement and pace, piling up points if not wins given Brooklyn's talent level before the franchise abandoned the slow build in favor of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, replacing Atkinson midway through their first season with the Nets. Atkinson takes over a similarly ascendent Hornets team, reportedly on a four-year deal, looking for a structure to help LaMelo Ball find consistency. They're also seeking defensive improvement, which may be a tougher bridge to gap given Atkinson's expertise and Charlotte's personnel. Mitch Kupchak still needs to upgrade this roster to compete.
Chicago: Both Jake Fischer and Kevin O'Connor floated the Bulls as a brewing destination for Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who could provide a defensive anchor for a team that played inconsistently on that end, but would also require massive changes to a roster this team may want to see ran back. Zach LaVine would be able to nix any involvement in a Gobert deal given his unrestricted free agent status, while LaMelo Ball and Nikola Vucevic don't feel valuable enough after rough finishes to their season, respectively, with injury and inconsistency. Patrick Williams would carry some weight, while Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu provide solid sweetener value, but it's hard to imagine the Bulls getting this deal done without paying a heavy price. Gobert's salary alone would become an immediate strain on the team's flexibility.
Dallas: Jalen Brunson's free agency will become one of the offseason's top stories, with the Mavericks needing to keep him and competition from the outside likely to be heavy. If Brunson desires a larger role or change of scenery, despite Dallas' likely financial advantage, the Mavericks would probably need to sign-and-trade him. They've reportedly resisted helping any other team acquire him, though, and a good explainer here outlines the difficulty in improving when trading away a low-salary player like Brunson on a larger new contract, due to base year compensation rules that change how salaries match in a deal.
Detroit: It's probably now or never for a Jerami Grant trade as the forward enters a contract year and the Pistons kicked back addressing his future through two trade deadlines and an offseason. Grant is comfortable in Detroit and chose to be there, leaving the option open for them to retain him as part of their future core next to Cade Cunningham and this year's first-round pick, but there's a chance the team wants to make that rookie another priority over Grant. Getting value has been the biggest challenge for Detroit when they've explored trades in the past, and that may not change after an uneven season where he battled inconsistent shooting and injuries. He's still an intriguing scorer with size that could help teams like the Hawks and has long been a Trail Blazers target.
Golden State (tied 2-2 vs. Boston): They've struggled to find lineups, with Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Nemanja Bjelica and Gary Payton II all struggling to fully fit in against the Celtics' size and athleticism. While Steve Kerr experiments, Steph Curry put on an all-time NBA Finals performance through four games, averaging 34.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 3.8 APG on 50% shooting from the field and 49% from three. The Celtics have dropped often, daring him to beat them on difficult shots, and he has. Boston's plan seems to be locking up his teammates, forcing Curry into difficult shots and chasing guards after him through screens, but they've played with fire and lost their bet in Game 4. The Warriors received life through their deficiencies, and despite needing to bench Green in the fourth quarter on Friday, they'll take three shots at two wins, with two games at home, for a championship given how the series began. Steve Kerr emphasized defense above all else entering the must-win game in Boston, turning up the heat again to force 16 Celtics turnovers.
Indiana: Myles Turner is back on the court after his foot injury that ended his season, reportedly likely to remain with the Pacers entering the final year of his contract, valued at $17.5-million. The Pacers will get a chance to see him next to new franchise cornerstone Tyrese Haliburton and a top-10 pick.
Lakers: LeBron James' future looms one year ahead of his potential free agency, with the star already forecasting an intent to play with his teenaged son Bronny and own a hypothetical expansion team in Las Vegas. The billionaire star's decision on what's next will ultimately dictate LA's, and could give the franchise cold feet over moving it's lone movable assets, 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. New head coach Darvin Ham talked like Russell Westbrook is part of the plan in his introductory press conference. With the two options potentially being giving away one or multiple picks deep into the future or waiving the star as dead money for years to come, they may decide to give this core one more chance with a healthy Anthony Davis if James' exit could come at the end of next year anyway. Commissioner Adam Silver said last week there's no plan for NBA expansion in the coming years.
Miami: Heat president Pat Riley made telling comments at his press conference in the aftermath of Miami's injury-riddled seven-game loss in the East finals to the Celtics. He spoke about needing two-way players and his stars in shape ahead of Tyler Herro's extension negotiations and Kyle Lowry's first offseason with the team after inking a three-year deal last summer. Lowry missed time for personal reasons during his first season, before injuring his hamstring late in the year and struggling immensely upon his return. The Heat quietly unlocked access to their 2022 or 2023 first-round pick if they look to upgrade their roster this summer, but with their money tied up in Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Lowry and Duncan Robinson, it's hard to imagine this team transforming significantly even if they're stargazing.
New Orleans: Setting the table for arguably the most important contract negotiation period this offseason, Pelicans GM David Griffin called Zion Williamson a max player, all but committing to a five-year, $181-million offer to the star this summer to keep him in New Orleans ahead of his potential free agency next summer, albeit with potential injury protections. Williamson recently returned to the floor following a lost 2021-22 season due to a foot injury. Brandon Ingram, Zion's co-star, underwent finger surgery and will miss 6-8 weeks.
Philadelphia: The string of 76ers-missed-out-on-Jayson Tatum stories keep flowing, and while Philadelphia did acquire the No. 1 pick outright from Boston in the 2017 NBA Draft, it's hard to imagine Danny Ainge didn't have a good feeling the Sixers would lean toward their former target Markelle Fultz. With the Lakers making their interest in Lonzo Ball well-known, the Celtics inevitably knew Tatum or Josh Jackson would be at the No. 3 overall position. Ainge did say in the aftermath of the Tatum selection that the player they picked No. 3 would've been the same one they took at No. 1. Fultz, among other Philadelphia first-round picks, struggled and no longer plays for the team.
Phoenix: John Hollinger added to the growing sense that restricted free agent Deandre Ayton will not play for the Phoenix Suns next season. Facing aforementioned base year compensation challenges that the Mavericks would if they move Brunson, the Suns will have a difficult time receiving appropriate compensation for Ayton that meets the needs of a franchise built around an aging star in Chris Paul. Maybe an Ayton trade sets the stage for a mini reset that Paul and Devin Booker can carry them through, but it feels inappropriate for a team that took a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals just one year ago. Jerami Grant works as a target money-wise with some salary filler on both ends, which would send Ayton to a budding Pistons team getting better faster than most realize.
Utah: The Jazz will target two Celtics assistants, Will Hardy and Joe Mazzulla, to potentially fill their head coaching position vacated by Quin Snyder, who stepped down this week. The move came roughly one month after the Jazz' season ended in the first round, closing a year filled with unevenness uncharacteristic for one of the top teams in the NBA over the past decade. Snyder oversaw a seamless transition from the Gordon Hayward era to the Donovan Mitchell one, but the limitations of Rudy Gobert as a max salary player in this setting made the Jazz a one-dimensional defense that couldn't guard certain playoff matchups. Charles Lee (Bucks), Johnnie Bryant (Knicks), Alex Jenson (Jazz) and former Portland coach Terry Stotts are on Danny Ainge's radar too. The Jazz will take their time, likely needing to assess where their roster may go before picking a coach profile. The team reportedly is not considering moving Mitchell, but could be enticed to trade Gobert.
Washington: Bradley Beal left his future as open as ever before in an interview with Taylor Rooks, saying he'll make whatever decision gives him the best chance to win. Beal can opt out of his contract and enter free agency this summer, but the prospect of signing one of the largest contracts in NBA history with the Wizards remains a strong tie between him and an organization he's remained on great terms with despite the unsteadiness of the post-John Wall years.