The Boston Celtics have been involved in a lot of trade chatter over the past several weeks and likely will continue to be leading up to the March 25th NBA trade deadline.
I personally have been a big proponent for the Cs to pursue some new additions, specifically looking for a dynamic post player who can help alleviate some of the pressure off Boston’s backcourt.
It’s becoming more clear by the day, however, that this team doesn’t need to go out and add a big man right now — the future of their frontcourt is already on the roster.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think Danny Ainge and the front office need to be looking around to make a trade or two, but there are more pressing needs than adding an eye-catching post player.
That’s because the Boston Celtics need to build their frontcourt around Robert Williams.
The Boston Celtics already have their center of the future in Robert Williams
I’ve been a big fan of Williams this whole season and he’s a favorite around here at the Houdini too. In fact, Time Lord simply seems to be a fan-favorite all around.
There’s good reason for that.
The 6-8, 235 -pound center out of Texas A&M is enjoying career-highs across the board this season, and he’s been doing that while playing less than 20 minutes a game.
Not only that, but he’s been on a hot streak lately, scoring in double figures in five of his last seven games and averaging 10.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.7 blocks in just over 20 minutes a game in that stretch.
Williams hasn’t just turned it on as of late though, as the third-year big man has consistently been an efficient and effective player this season.
Right now, Williams has the highest Player Efficiency Rating (26.4) of any player on Boston’s roster, and he easily has the highest true shooting percentage (72.3%) as well.
He’s tied with Tristan Thompson for the best total rebounding percentage (20.9%) on the team, and leads all players in block percentage (9.5%) and overall box plus/minus (6.0) among qualifying players.
Williams is athletic and talented in the paint, and he’s shown a knack for making solid passes, too. He doesn’t just dunk the ball and hit shots from the block, however, as he’s started to make mid-range shots more consistently too, hitting five of his 12 field goal attempts from 10-feet-out inside the three-point arc and is 9-of-20 (45%) on jump shots this season.
The Boston Celtics even has a solid veteran option to pair along with Williams in Daniel Theis.
While the 23-year-old Williams continues to grow and develop into his role, Theis has proven to be more than capable of being productive and steady at the five, averaging 9.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assits, and 1.1 blocks while bumping his 3-point shooting percentage to nearly 37 percent this season.
Recently, Brad Stevens expressed his desire to play Williams more and continue to let his role grow, which is the right move, in my opinion. The third-year player has a ton to offer both offensively and defensively, and the more he’s on the floor, the better Boston can be.
When Williams has played 19 or more minutes in a game this season, the Celtics are 7-4. On the flip side, they find themselves boasting just a 13-15 record when Williams plays fewer than 19 minutes, including a 3-4 mark when he hasn’t played at all.
Boston should still be active in the trade market, but they don’t need to look any further than their own roster for an impactful big man.
Robert Williams can be the future of the C’s frontcourt, and he deserves a shot to prove that.