“Agree or Disagree” on 3 first-round predictions for the Boston Celtics
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics prediction No. 2) “Robert Williams’ absence will largely not be felt”
Though the Boston Celtics were rolling into the postseason having won five of their last six outings and 17 of their last 22, some were rather concerned about how the absence of center Robert Williams III would affect the team against the Nets.
For folks like Brooklyn guard Bruce Brown, Time Lord being out was viewed as a major disadvantage for Boston, as he went on to state that they planned on attacking the two remaining high-usage bigs, Al Horford and Daniel Theis, claiming the two give the C’s “less of a presence in the paint.”
However, there were certainly others out there who believed that, even without Williams, the shamrocks are still a top-flight two-way team with the potential to continue moseying right along with their winning ways.
Zunic finds himself falling into this second category, and went as far as to predict that the rising star’s absence from the rotation “will largely not be felt.”
"While it seems like a huge blow for the Celtics, and it is in a certain regard, the roster has enough defensive powerhouses to make this work. It will likely mean that Al Horford, despite being 35 years of age, will need to play more minutes, but his experience is beyond valuable for this squad. It might be tiring, but it should work, with Daniel Theis and Grant Williams also capable big-man defenders. The Celtics are not the second-rated defense in the league because of one individual, no matter how impactful he is. They will take a hit, yes, but coach Ime Udoka and president Brad Stevens will find a way to rally the defense to play close to the level they have been at in the regular season. It will take more effort and adjustments, but the Celtics have the manpower to do it. They will likely focus more on perimeter defense and employ the zone at times to dissuade primarily Irving and Simmons, if he features, to enter the paint. While the Celtics will miss Time Lord, it will not be the deciding factor of the series."
To us, Zunic’s statement from above is about half right.
The Boston Celtics did not wind up getting to where they are defensively (they were the top-ranked defense in the league not the second, but we’ll let it slide) because of just Robert Williams alone, nor will his absence likely be what determines this first-round series.
However, what we at HH feel completely the opposite about is this notion that he won’t be severely missed from the lineup.
Before Sunday’s outing, we believed this, and now afterward, this belief has only been reinforced, for his main replacement in Theis wound up getting into foul trouble rather early, while the big man rotation also only registered one block, thus considerably diminishing the intimidation factor this team has down low when Williams is manning the five (alone, he swats 3.7 blocks per 100 possessions and boasts a blocks percentage of 6.8, the third-best mark in the NBA).
Robert Williams is an integral part of this team’s core and, like any key player that goes missing, their absence will be felt in quite a significant way.