3 reasons why the Boston Celtics should extend Grant Williams

Reason No. 3 the Boston Celtics should extend Grant Williams: He rises to the occasion in big moments

The final glaring reason why the Boston Celtics should be confident extending Grant Williams is that he showed that he can play well in the big moments. Now, you may be saying, “Sam, Grant Williams disappeared in the last two rounds of the playoffs.” That’s a fair argument, but regardless of how consistent he was in the later rounds, he was a key contributor in important moments, helping Boston to even get that far.

The obvious one to point to is Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams scored a game high 27 points, making seven 3-pointers in the process. Think about that, Grant Williams had a game high in a Game 7 where both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum played.

Prior to that game, Williams was a key piece of Boston’s early success. In the first round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, the forward averaged 11 points and shooting 50% from deep in the process. Against the Bucks, he was about the same, putting up just under 11 points in each game, shooting 38% from behind the arc.

Just like the regular season, Grant brought it on the defensive end. He saw significant time defending two of the best players on the planet in Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The story of that first round series against Brooklyn really was how poorly Durant played and Williams was a big part of that. There was one play in particular in Game 2, where KD dribbled the ball off of his found while being guarded by Grant.

As Boston looks primed for an extended period of success, there should be no doubt that Grant Williams is a part of the future for the Celtics. Extending him prior to the season would lock a valuable piece up at a discounted price.