BOSTON — Robert Williams III has battled left knee soreness since his meniscus surgery in late March. However, Time Lord powered through in the Celtics’ Game 3 win and is willing to continue to do so to help Boston win banner No. 18.
Williams played 26 minutes Wednesday night, but the Celtics center got it done on the boards with 10 rebounds along with four blocks and three steals. Time Lord looked spry and even got serious air on an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Al Horford, but there were times Williams was limping — showing the knee injury still lingers.
“It’s been rough,” Williams said after Boston’s 116-100 victory. “Throwing everything at it. Usually it’s more sore the day after the game, obviously, adrenaline going down. But we did some different things today, got on the bike a little bit earlier before the game. I benefited from it.”
Williams, 24, is in his fourth season and has a bright future ahead of him. But a trip to the NBA Finals doesn’t come along every day, and there’s been many young squads who fell short in the Finals and never made it back. Time Lord explained how the NBA Finals changes the dynamic of playing through a serious injury.
“Yeah, for sure. Knowing what I’m playing for, obviously,” Williams said. “Taking the risk of playing and getting this far — I’ve obviously got more work to do, but it’s worth it, for sure.”
Williams suffered a scary incident in Game 2 when teammate Marcus Smart fell into his knee. The Celtics center has said his injury is “manageable,” but clearly, any contact weighs heavily.
Williams has missed seven games this postseason due to his knee injury, and the Celtics have routinely listed the center as questionable in their injury reports. Williams, again, wanted to focus more on winning a title and think about his future after that.
“I think it’s a matter of playing through pain,” he added. “Obviously, not getting the time off that I need for this injury — just a matter of playing through pain. We’ll focus on that after the season.”
Williams has not played over 30 minutes this postseason, but coach Ime Udoka and the Celtics will continue to monitor Williams to ensure they can get the most out of him for the rest of the NBA Finals.
