Robert Williams III Will Determine Celtics' NBA Title Hopes

The Boston Celtics bounced back in a big way with a 102-82 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 4, and the key to winning the entire series is going to be on the broad shoulders of big man Robert Williams III.

Williams made the Heat's offense feel his presence inside the paint early in Game 4 as he grabbed five rebounds in his first eight minutes of action, helping the Celtics tie the series at two apiece.

“Time Lord” only needed to do his damage in less than 19 minutes of action as he ended the night with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, two blocks, and nine rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.

Celtics head coach Ime Udoka made the decision to pull out Williams in the third quarter, effectively ending his night then as the team continues to preserve him for the next game.

When asked by reporters regarding his troubles with his ailing left knee, Williams simply replied that he and the Celtics’ training staff are taking it slowly.

“There’s just some swelling, a little bit. Stiffing up on me a little. Taking it day by day, spending a lot of time with the trainers, obviously, throwing a lot of scenarios at it and I’ll see how it responds,” he shared.

Williams was an important piece of the Celtics’ rotation as he rendered Miami big man Bam Adebayo utterly useless in Game 4, proving why he also deserved to be on the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team along with him.

In 27 minutes, Adebayo had nine points, six boards, and an assist to his name, a far cry from his 31-point, 10-rebound explosion in Game 3.

Williams was not present for Game 3 as he took the night off to deal with his knee troubles which allowed him to go off then.

At this point in the season, every team and player in the Conference Finals are dealing with some sort of injury, and the Celtics are no stranger to it as Williams and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart have been sidelined multiple times already.

Thus far, it looks like the Celtics are staggering Smart and Williams’ rest days, which likely means that Williams will take Game 5 off.

“We usually wait ‘til the next game to see the swelling or anything. Coming out of this game, no doubts in my head, I felt good playing,” he added about the possibility of him playing in the pivotal Game 5.

Playing Williams allows the Celtics to be more aggressive on defense which will inevitably generate turnovers and in turn, net them easy points in the transition.

However, Udoka runs the risk of re-aggravating his knee injury and potentially knocking him out for this postseason.

As the series shifts to the back half, Williams’ availability will determine how far this gritty Celtics team can go.

Winning the Eastern Conference Finals is one thing, but taking the Larry O’Brien trophy home and a record-breaking 18th banner for the storied franchise will have the entire Celtics staff weighing the risk and reward of playing Williams in Game 5.

Robert Williams III #44 of the Boston Celtics looks to pass against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at TD Garden on February 17, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images