The Boston Celtics are in the midst of what seems to be a never-ending losing stretch.
But at least Robert Williams has been impressive of late, right? Small victories are important in trying times, after all.
And Williams certainly has been among them. The third-year center has put together a highlight-reel of alley-oops, thunderous dunks and blocked shots — one of which incredibly came at the 3-point line — in recent games.
“Rob is continuing to improve night in and night out,” teammate Jayson Tatum told reporters Sunday after the Celtics’ loss to the New Orleans Pelicans — an epic collapse after leading by 24 points.
Williams played 21 minutes against the Pelicans, having now played 19 or more in three of the last four games. He’s played 20 or more in just four games this season. But with more minutes has come more production.
Williams scored eight points on 4-for-6 from the field against the Pelicans, 12 points on 6-for-8 from the field against the Hawks, eight points on 4-for-5 from the floor against Atlanta the game prior and eight points on 4-for-4 from the field against the Denver Nuggets.
Williams is converting on almost 73% of his field goal attempts.
And he’s shown his ability on the other side of the floor, too. Williams had four blocks in each of the last two games and seven steals (season-high five versus Denver) in the last four games.
“I think he is understanding the game more, and it’s showing with his productively out there on the court,” Tatum said. “He’s tough to guard because he gets off the roll quick. Obviously, he can play really high above the rim.
“He has an amazing feel for the game,” Tatum added. “Rob’s really, really good and he’s going to help us out the more opportunities that he gets.”
Hopefully the energy Williams provides will be able to rub off a little on the rest of the Celtics as they get set to face the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
