The Celtics released the following today:
"Celtics Forward Grant Williams today underwent successful surgery to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament of the 3rd metacarpo-phalangeal joint on his left hand. He is expected to make a full return to basketball activities in 6-8 weeks."
Karalis' take:
First, let's explain what this is.
The 3rd metacarpophalangeal joint on the left hand is the joint that connects the middle finger to the base of the hand. According to ESPN, Williams suffered the injury in March and played through it the rest of the season and the playoffs.
Williams had also been dealing with an elbow injury in his shooting elbow.
This should have no impact on his future, be it with the Celtics or anyone else if that's how his restricted free agency goes.
I wonder if this injury was what was keeping Williams on the bench rather than landing in Joe Mazzulla's dog house. Was this, along with the elbow, part of why he sat so much to end the season? If so, why didn't the Celtics report any of these injuries?
There are certainly questions to be answered here for Boston. The injury itself is no big deal. The surgery went well, he'll be back in six weeks, and it's over. I'm sure we'll probably hear about another surgery or two in the relatively near future as well. Now is the time to get it so guys can go on their vacations, heal, and then be healthy for the hard work of getting ready for the season.
I want to know why this wasn't disclosed. I also will wonder if the NBA will have some interest in why this wasn't disclosed. They take injury reporting seriously because of the gambling side of their business. If the Celtics are hiding injuries, the league might not like that very much.