Boston Celtics: Robert Williams Back from COVID-19 Absence

Boston Celtics’ center Robert Williams is off the injury report for the game on Wednesday, set to see his first action since January 6th against the Miami Heat. The Celtics are scheduled to play the Philadelphia 76ers, who have COVID troubles of their own.

Williams will have missed exactly two weeks after reportedly testing positive for the virus. The 3rd year man experienced flu-like symptoms, stating it “took a toll” on him over these past two weeks.

However, Williams is back in the fold for the Boston Celtics and is ready for action right in time for two important games against an Atlantic division rival.

Both Jayson Tatum and Carsen Edwards remain out due to COVID-19 protocols, with the former not traveling to Philly for either of the two games. Although the Boston Celtics are not yet back at 100% strength, it will be good to get their young big man back to provide energy in the frontcourt.

In the eight games he played this season, the “Time Lord” was averaging career highs in points (6.8), rebounds (6.5), and FG% (77%). Coming off the bench for only 16 minutes a game, those numbers are extremely efficient for his role. He has helped anchor the second unit with surprisingly productive players on the back-end of the rotation, along with Semi Ojeleye and Payton Pritchard.

In terms of on/off statistics, the Celtics have been 17.3 points better per 100 possessions with Williams on the floor. This is third-best on the team, only behind the aforementioned Ojeleye and Pritchard, who both make Boston 20.3 points better.

Furthermore, when Williams is on the floor, the Boston Celtics score on average 20 points more per 100 possessions, placing him in the 99th percentile in that category in the league. Individual stats also support Williams’ drastic improvement in his third year in the NBA. He still has an insanely high block% (4.8%), good enough for the 96th percentile of all bigs. Along with this, he supports a 2.8% steal% (97th percentile) and the best offensive rebound rate in the league (18.3%).

That means he rebounds 18.3% of the Celtics’ misses, allowing countless second chance opportunities. This skill is something that Williams did not show as much in his rookie and sophomore seasons, with his previous career-high recording at 10.7%. This is certainly a small sample size, so expect it to drop a considerable amount, but he has impacted games much more this season compared to previous ones.

In the past, his main issue has been struggling to simply stay on the court. In his rookie year, he only played 32 games, mainly due to playing time. However, he also got off to a promising start in his second season, only to miss the majority of the year. He combined for 61 games in his first two seasons.

As coach Brad Stevens tries to sort out his frontcourt rotation, including Daniel Theis and free-agent signing Tristan Thompson, Williams adds another layer to the mix. He is certainly the most promising option long term and has acted as the best center on the team in the first month of the season. Therefore, don’t be surprised if he sees the most action of his young career once he gets his conditioning back up.

“Time Lord” is back, folks.

(stats per Cleaning the Glass)