Boston Celtics: 3 ways Robert Williams-Al Horford duo can change offense

It’s been a minute since the Boston Celtics had a complete frontcourt. Danny Ainge had done an abysmal job at rebounding from losing Al Horford and Aron Baynes for the past two seasons, replacing them with defensive liabilities and undersized bigs. And, as much as I love Daniel Theis, in a conference with Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo, he cannot be this team’s high-minute big.

To make matters worse, Ainge followed up the bubble performance–in which Theis got torched by Adebayo–by signing Tristan Thompson to the entire MLE. Thompson is better than Theis, and the C’s needed his size, but he was still a paint-clogger and could not switch to save his life. Yet somehow, he netted $19 million from the Boston Celtics in free agency. This signing limited Boston’s offense, defense, and financial flexibility

Luckily, the drought at the center in Boston is finally over. With Robert Williams improving like many knew he would and Brad Stevens bringing in Al Horford, the Boston Celtics finally have a well-balanced, versatile, and complimentary big rotation. Not only will their defense be better, but their passing and spacing will improve exponentially as well. This development is just as crucial to the Celtics’ hopes for banner #18 as Jayson Tatum’s leap into superstardom.

Let’s dive into what you can expect from Big Al and Robert Williams this upcoming season and how Udoka can deploy both to maximize the Celtics rotations.

The Boston Celtics can switch freely now

The idea of switching is not new to the Celtics. Brad Stevens has been deploying it for most of his tenure with the Cs, and Ime Udoka utilized it a lot with the Brooklyn Nets last season. Boston has always been comfortable leaving their bigs out of the perimeter with wings and guards to avoid potential confusion or open drives.

Boston was able to get away with this for a very long time because they had Al Horford on the roster, who was exceptionally light on his feet and had good perimeter instincts. Once he left, the Celtics had to rely on Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter, and Tristan Thompson to perform these switching maneuvers. They couldn’t handle it, and it was evident that their shortcomings on the perimeter would hold the Celtics back defensively in the playoffs.

Luckily, Brad Stevens has already eliminated Boston’s switching dilemma just a few weeks into his tenure as President of Basketball Operations by acquiring Al Horford. The old Celtics reliable is not what he was when he left, but he is still one of the better defensive bigs in the NBA and showcased his abilities with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With Horford and Williams at the five, Udoka can deploy his switch-heavy defensive scheme without having to worry about Boston’s bigs. That leaves one less way to exploit Boston’s defense in the playoffs, which will give them a leg up when they have to face stacked perimeter teams like the Nets.