Grant Williams was credited for being a big part of the Boston Celtics’ success early on in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers. But that has not been the case in Boston’s back-to-back losses as Philadelphia has taken a stranglehold of the best-of-seven.
Joe Mazzulla should consider pressing that button again when the Celtics travel to Wells Fargo Arena for a win-or-go-home Game 6 on Thursday night.
In fairness to Mazzulla, the first-year coach tried to get Williams involved early in Boston’s 115-103 loss to Philadelphia at TD Garden. Mazzulla inserted Grant Williams into the lineup for Robert Williams III late in the first quarter and again subbed him into the contest midway through the second. Grant Williams, however, didn’t make the most of the opportunity and a pair of boneheaded shooting fouls on consecutive possessions halted his contributions in four first-half minutes. Those fouls sent Joel Embiid to the line where he hit four free throws over two possessions. Grant Williams, who entered when Boston was trailing 42-36, was subbed out one minute later as the Green trailed by nine points.
Mazzulla then stapled Grant Williams to the bench in the third quarter before he returned for garbage time with Payton Pritchard and company. It proved a clear loss of trust, and for good reason. But if the Celtics want to be at their best defensively Thursday, it’s fair to believe Grant Williams will need to play a key part in limiting Embiid. And limiting or containing Embiid should be priority No. 1. Grant Williams is more likely to do so than Robert Williams, who got torched by Embiid in Game 5 with the NBA MVP pulling up on the nail and connecting time and time again after pick-and-roll sets. The Celtics going back to a double-big lineup with Horford and Robert Williams might be worth a shot, too.
As it relates to Grant Williams, though, when he was at his best in Game 2 against the Sixers, he kept up with Embiid physically. He recorded a plus-22 rating in 29 minutes, and he was impactful in Boston’s Game 2 victory, as well, despite not scoring a point.
Mazzulla clearly tried to ignite some sort of boost in the second half when it was getting away from the Celtics. However, going to Payton Pritchard didn’t exactly pay dividends as Pritchard’s eight points came in the final four minutes when the Green trailed by 19. A similar boost will be needed ahead of and during Game 6, and re-integrating Grant Williams is well worth a shot.
