Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from excruciating loss against Spurs
By Ryan Cinque
Boston Celtics takeaway No. 2) Cs would’ve been blown out without Kanter and Williams
Grant Williams and Enes Kanter, two player Boston Celtics fans often complain about, were two crucial factors in making this game close. Williams and Kanter finished the game with plus-minus’ of +18 and +28, respectively.
Without Kanter on the floor, the Celtics were -36 on the game. It says a lot about how Boston’s 2021-22 season is going when this game would’ve been a blowout without both Enes Kanter and Grant Williams playing substantial minutes.
Kanter’s play picked up the slack for starting center, Al Horford, who struggled all night from seemingly everywhere on the hardwood. It’s possible that maybe if Kanter played the final few minutes instead of Horford Boston would’ve closed this game out and left San Antonio with a win.
It’s definitely time for Cs fans to acknowledge the growth they’ve seen from Grant Williams. His offense has been steadily improving and he finished Friday night’s game with three blocks as well.
That being said, the Celtics shouldn’t need to rely on these two players to make the difference against a weaker opponent, but the harsh reality is that they needed everything from them and more during the outing.