2 players that must step up for the Boston Celtics in Game Two

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Grant Williams

During his third season in the association, Grant Williams managed to establish himself as an oft-utilized talent off the pine for the Boston Celtics.

One of the team’s most trusty reserve options, the forward saw himself playing quite a vital role within Ime Udoka’s rotation in 2021-22, and, even during their lackluster start to the year, he proved to be perhaps the only consistent contributor.

Sadly, this aformentioned consistency was not present in Sunday’s Game One, as the 23-year-old struggled mightily in the area of his game where he typically excells: shooting.

On the night, the fan favorite saw 21 minutes of action, but only managed to put up a measley stat line of just seven points, two rebounds, and one assist on a putrid 0-for-4 shooting performance from deep while also registering the lowest plus-minus rating from both ball clubs of -17.

For those of you who are familiar with how the C’s and, particularly, Williams has played throughout this year’s campaign, this type of performance is extremely uncharacteristic.

Through 77 games played on the season, the quasi-big man went on to put up career-highs all-across the board, averaging 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, one assist, and just shy of a steal and a block on 41 percent shooting from deep and 47.5 percent shooting from the floor, the first and second-best marks on the team.

Literally, not one of Grant Williams’ attempts from beyond the arc were tightly contested, yet he still couldn’t find a way to convert.

That’s 12 potential points left off the board that could have absolutely come in handy during this tightly contested contest, one that needed an acrobatic buzzer beater to have them come away with the win.

In Game Two, the Boston Celtics are going to need Williams to tap back into his regular season shooting efficiency if they wish to better their odds of going up 2-0 in the series.