BOSTON — When Robert Williams is feeling like himself, there aren’t many players in the NBA that impact the game to the extent he can.
The Boston Celtics big man, who has continued to deal with knee soreness following a bone bruise and surgery on a torn meniscus, was feeling himself Wednesday night during Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
“He’s a game changer. Rob is really a game changer,” Al Horford said of Williams after Boston’s 116-100 victory. “We’re very fortunate to have a guy like that that impacts winning in the way that he does, because it’s beyond the numbers with him. It’s just all the things that he brings, being in the right places. I’ve been so impressed with Rob, just his ability to just continue to get better and learn.”
And while Horford acknowledged Williams brings some much more with his presence than numbers might quantify, the numbers aid in telling the story, too. Williams stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. He was 4-for-5 from the floor on the offensive end, but Wednesday’s biggest contributions came in terms of his shot-blocking and shot-altering.
“It does everything for us. It makes us even more dangerous,” Marcus Smart said of Williams. “The way he attacks the rim in the aerial attack for us and it puts a lot of pressure on defenses, especially the one where they’re not very big in that 5 position. The things that he can do, just throwing the ball up there and let him go do it, is remarkable. When he’s doing that and he’s protecting that paint and he’s moving the way he’s moving, it makes us that much more dangerous.”
Williams was largely impactful in Boston’s Game 1 victory, too. He finished with eight points and six rebounds to go with his four blocked shots. But you can also clearly tell when his knee soreness has got the best of him, like that in Game 2 as Williams finished with two points and two rebounds in just 14 minutes.
The proof is quite clear, though. When Williams is able to jump out of the rim and show his burst, the Celtics are difficult to beat.
“Rob is an excellent defensive player. In my opinion, he could have won Defensive Player of the Year, as well, in that category with Smart, but he had some injuries that took him out of the running,” Jaylen Brown said. “But Rob, when he’s healthy and he’s out there moving like him, he’s one of the better defensive players in the league. No surprise tonight.”
Williams and the Celtics return to TD Garden for Game 4 on Friday.
