Robert Williams will travel with the Boston Celtics as their first-round playoff series shifts to the home court of the Brooklyn Nets, but Williams won't be inserted into game action quite yet.
Celtics coach Ime Udoka told reporters on Thursday that Williams is progressing nicely after undergoing surgery on March 30 to repair his torn meniscus and Udoka is pleased with where Williams is at in his recovery.
"He's progressing well," Udoka said, per NBC Sports Boston. "He’s had no setbacks and that benchmark of what we said, the four to six weeks, is looking good. So we're happy with his progress."
With Williams currently on track with the team's initial timeline, the Celtics center could make a return later in the first round if Boston's series with the Nets is extended. For Williams, Game 5 will mark four weeks since he had the surgery.
Udoka said Williams is doing more around the practice facility as he readies himself for a return in the near future.
"He's jumped up his level of activity as far as rehab," Udoka said, according to MassLive's Souichi Terada. "Being out there with some 3-on-3, 4-on-4, but not out there practicing with the team. You can't really emulate the game, but he's starting to do more. Contact work and getting out there as much as we can."
The Celtics could have easily left Williams behind in Boston and let him continue his rehab, but Udoka believes it's important for Williams to still be around the team during the two games in Brooklyn.
"It's just different than end of the (regular) season where early stages of his rehab we want him to be here getting two-a-days in," Udoka said, per NBC Sports Boston. "This is the time of year we want him around the team camaraderie-wise and his impact just being around the group to be in that playoff atmosphere."
Boston takes on Brooklyn in Game 3 on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Celtics hold a 2-0 series lead.
