BOSTON — It’s something the Boston Celtics have gotten used to throughout the years, including already this season, as another injury will keep Robert Williams out of action for multiple games.
Williams suffered a left hamstring strain in Friday’s demoralizing loss to the Brooklyn Nets, adding yet another ailment the fifth-year center will have to bounce back from.
That won’t happen overnight, either, as Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Williams is expected to be sidelined for seven to 10 days.
“Those things can change just kind of depending how quickly he can get back to sprinting, I guess,” Mazzulla said prior to the Celtics facing the New York Knicks on Sunday. “So just kind of have to see.”
And given Williams’ extensive injury history, the Celtics plan to be cautious with the high-flying big man as the regular season winds down.
“He’s done a good job of his rehab and coming back and working through stuff,” Mazzulla said. “Not going to rush him by any means. But when he’s healthy, we need him and we want to play off of him. So whenever he comes back, we’ll be ready.”
Williams missed the first 29 games of this season due to recovery from offseason knee surgery. Williams, who is averaging 8.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season, appeared to be finding his stride as of late, especially on the defensive end of the floor. The 6-foot-9 big man recorded two blocks in each of the past three games.
But any progress made has been halted for now with Williams going through an all too familiar rehab process.
“I don’t know how hard it is for him,” Mazzulla said. “I do know he’s done a great job this year of getting to a point where he is healthy and he is on the floor and working through stuff. So, I trust he’ll be able to do that with this as well.”
