Boston Celtics center Robert Williams has a torn meniscus in his left knee, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday. He’s expected to miss a minimum of several weeks, likely putting any potential return well into the postseason (just two weeks remain in the regular season). It’s devastating blow for a team that his been on a roll of late.
Boston has taken over first place in the Eastern Conference behind a 22-3 record in its last 25 games. Prior to the stretch, the Celtics were 23-24 on the season and 10th place in the East. Now they have the fourth-shortest odds to win the conference at +450 and are tied for the fifth-shortest to win a title at +900.
Those chances take a hit without Williams, their starting center and anchor of a defense that was the catalyst for Boston’s rise up the standings.
Williams was injured in Sunday night’s victory — Boston’s 24th in 28 games — and underwent an MRI today. Williams is first among 169 players who’ve defended 500-plus shots as the closest defender, per Second Spectrum tracking. Only Williams has held opponents sub-40 % shooting.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 28, 2022
Williams is Boston’s leading rebounder, nearly averaging a double-double at 10.0 points per game and 9.6 rebounds. About four of those boards come on offense, where he ranks fourth in the NBA in offensive rebounds. Those second-chance opportunities and high-efficiency points from the paint is what Boston will miss most on the offensive end. Williams brings a load of energy as a lob threat and he shoots nearly 74% from the field.
He also brings that athleticism on the defensive end as someone with the foot speed to switch on smaller players and the size to contest bigger players — he averages over two blocks per game. Without him, Boston has options at center like Al Horford and Daniel Theis but less depth as the rotation changes.
Boston’s league-best defensive rating is a product of a team effort, so while they’ll miss him, they shouldn’t see an exponential drop-off without Williams. In the team’s recent stretch of wins, Boston is 2-1 in games without him. But even a few losses could have a big impact on the standings. Only half a game separates the Celtics from first and fourth place in the conference. And I expect that next loss to come Monday in Toronto (-7), their second game of a back-to-back.