Boston Celtics: 2 current players Grant Williams should mold his game after

Draymond Green

The best-case scenario for any non-traditional center–think anything from a Joel Embiid type to a Nikola Jokic or even a DeAndre Jordan in terms of size and skill set–is to become a linchpin on a 3x NBA Champion and winner of five consecutive Western Conference Finals like Draymond Green has become.

As a ball-handler, rim-protector, ball-hawk, distributor, and–at least in 2015-16, an elite 3-point shooter–Green has perfected the art being a small-ball center. It was his ability to embrace banging in the post with bruising fives that unlocked the full potential of the Golden State Warriors offense via Steve Kerr’s vaunted “death lineup” that eventually morphed into the “Hamptons Five”.

Williams has almost identical attributes to Green, likewise standing six-foot-six and around 230 pounds. In fact, Williams’ rookie season was identical in an almost spooky fashion to Green’s. Encouragingly enough for Cs fans, the former Defensive Player of the Year also posted an underwhelming 3/3/1 but shot even worse from the field.

Boston appears pretty close to contention as it stands. Further improvement of Brown and Tatum along with good health from the rest of their core could be all it takes to get to the promised land. But man, Williams eventually morphing into a Green-type big man could create a juggernaut in Beantown.