Celtics’ injury woes continue as Robert Williams goes down with a lower back contusion

If the Celtics weren’t already stretched and very short-handed at the big man position heading into last night’s game in Charlotte, then it certainly will be for tonight matchup against the San Antonio Spurs at TD Garden.

With Al Horford resting and Aron Baynes missing after he hurt his ankle in a previous game against Philadelphia, coach Brad Stevens found himself calling upon Robert Williams and Daniel Theis to fill the holes left by Horford and Baynes. However, it wasn’t long before Stevens and the Celtics were dealt yet another blow at the center position.

After just nine minutes into his first start as a Celtic, Williams was forced to leave the game when he suffering a nasty fall onto his back while trying a rebound dunk off a miss from Marcus Smart. So with the 21-year-old now being evaluated, it was down to Theis to hold the fort while Brad tried to figure out a plan.

Williams, as expected, didn’t return after half-time and the team tweeted that he had “suffered a lower back contusion.”

The Celtics went on to lose the game after a very ugly fourth-quarter collapse at the hands of Kemba Walker. However, with that game now behind us, the team is set to take on the Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back and if you are like me, the game couldn’t have come at the worst possible time and furthermore, Williams’ unfortunate fall couldn’t have been a more unwanted blow to a Celtics roster that is already very thin.

Early suggestions are that Horford and Baynes will not be available, although the team remains hopeful that Baynes could return to face the Spurs, and it’s been said that Williams’ timetable is being viewed similarly to that of Jaylen Brown’s when he took a fall against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Brown sat out for two weeks and missed six games in his recovery, so should Williams need the same sort of time, the big man woes for the Celtics will be at an all-time low.

What is Brad’s option’s now?

If the Celtics are indeed to be without Williams, Horford, and Baynes, the that will leave Brad with his only current option Daniel Theis, however, the team has just signed free agent Greg Monroe to a 10-day contract, a move that was intended to cover for these types of situations. Monroe is yet to be officially announced as a Celtics but will be available immediately should they get it done today.

There is also an option for the team to call up the newest member of their G-League affiliate team the Maine Red Claws – Thomas Robinson. The initial plan was for Robinson to see out the rest of the Red Claw’s season in the G-League so that the team could assess him (per Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith.), but with Stevens’ options very stretched, it may be that Robinson could find his name called upon way before it was expected or even if it was the plan at all.

However Stevens decides to deal with the current problem,  it’s pretty clear that the Celtics’ injury woes at the big man spot are fast becoming a common issue and one that cannot afford to be carried over into the playoffs. Celtics have just nine more games left on the season, and while the Indiana Pacers are only just ahead by one sole game, it’s could be an option to rest those injured parties accordingly so that everyone is good to go at the most important time of the year.