The Boston Celtics’ center position has been a tricky one for Danny Ainge to adequately fill for the better part of the last decade. Throughout the years, stop-gap options have been deployed, with Kevin Garnett and Al Horford playing out of position and the likes of Amir Johnson, Aron Baynes, and Daniel Theis playing big minutes at the 5.
They’ve worked to a degree, as the Cs have missed exactly one postseason (2014) since Ainge acquired Garnett in the first place 14 years ago. Then again, when a franchise is known for historical dominance, going a decade without a championship may dictate that the smorgasbord of big men meant to elevate Boston has not been up to snuff.
At least when the team had Horford and Baynes in 2018-19, things appeared to be steady in Beantown. That team was built perfectly top to bottom, with the big man duo effectively serving as the team’s point-prevention patrol. Obviously, egos got in the way of that particular team’s triumphs, but that was the last time there was an obvious answer to the question of who the team’s go-to pivots were.
For the past two years, Ainge has used every outlet to find the next answer at the 5. Theis was brought over from Germany in 2017 as a third-stringer but found himself in the starting job at the onset of the 2019-20 season.
That’s because no one else was able to claim the brass ring. Newly-signed Enes Kanter was too much of a liability on the defensive end, while unsigned international rookie Vincent Poirier was able to contribute next to nothing on the offensive end.
Then there was Robert Williams. The “Time Lord” was a long-term project taken out of Texas A&M in the second round of the 2018 draft. Originally tabbed as the starter in the preseason, his defensive deficiencies (besides the spectacular block here and there) prevented him from sticking with the starting five before opening day, and various injuries kept him from re-earning that chance.
Fast-forward to today, and Williams is a significant contributor as the starting center for the 25-25 2020-21 Boston Celtics…and the only big man from that 2019-20 rotation still in uniform.
The Cs have struggled across the board this season, hence the .500 record and #8 seed at the moment, but Williams’ insertion into the starting lineup has led to four wins in their last six games and has led to gaudy stat-lines the past two games (20/9/8 against Houston and 16/8/2 last night against Charlotte) from the Shreveport, Louisiana native.
He is proving to be indispensable. His peers have not in the past, and once again are failing to prove as much this season.
Theis, Kanter, and Porier are gone, replaced by Tristan Thompson, Moritz Wagner, and Luke Kornet. The latter two are free agents this summer, and Thompson’s $9 million+ salary serves as one of Ainge’s most significant non-core trade assets.
That means that by this time next year, we should be talking about Williams once again being the lone man to walk out of the Boston Celtics’ center gulag.