Defensive anchor set to make season debut for Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III is set to make his season debut on Friday against the Orland Magic, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnorowski and the Athletic’s Shams Charania. Earlier this week, it was reported that Williams had been cleared to play ahead of Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The only remaining factor was his confidence in his own health as well as his conditioning.

Over the last few months, Williams has been working to recover from a procedure on his left knee, which was first injured last April. Williams tore his meniscus in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

‘The Timelord’ was able to make a quick recovery from the tear. He rejoined the Celtics for Game 3 of the first round against the Brooklyn Nets. Williams played sporadically throughout Boston’s NBA Finals run and never quite looked like the dominant force that fans had watched during the regular season.

The Boston Celtics are getting back an impact player

During the 2021-22 regular season, Robert Williams III had averaged a solid 10 points and just under 10 rebounds for the Boston Celtics. Williams also found himself on the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team. His numbers took a bit of a hit in the playoffs as he recovered from his injury. Williams put up just under eight points and grabbed about six rebounds per game. His knee clearly wasn’t at its best but the Texas A&M alumni wanted to be out there for the Celtics as they marched towards the NBA Finals.

News broke of Williams undergoing a second procedure on that knee in late September. The timetable for the Timelord’s return was reported to be anywhere from 8-12 weeks after the surgery. Williams described himself as day-to-day before the Dec. 10 loss to the Golden State Warriors, saying “there is a possibility of anything.” Now Celtics fans will finally get to enjoy the highly anticipated season debut of the team’s high flying center.