Grant Williams talks surviving Game 7 pressure, missed free throws

Speaking Sunday, Boston Celtics rookie Grant Williams talked on biffing critical free throws and shutting Fred Van Vleet down in Game 7.

He might have only played seven minutes while missing the most important free throws of his (still young) career, but Boston Celtics rookie forward Grant Williams’ play late in the fourth quarter for the Celtics might have been the difference between advancing to the East Finals and going home.

Williams’ minutes have been highly irregular throughout the series due to the multitude of ways the Raptors have played, but in the moments his services have been called on, the Tennessee product has acquitted himself surprisingly well given the stakes.

And frankly speaking to the media on Sunday, Williams let on that he wasn’t feeling especially pressured despite getting his number called in the waning moments of an elimination game.

“It was a moment I was supposed to stay ready for, prepare for because especially with that team different lineups came to be used,” explained Williams.

“I didn’t know if I was playing that night, honestly, because I was going into the fourth quarter and I was like “[It] may be a night where he throws me in, it might not.'”

Turns out, it was, and the Charlotte native had several critical plays to help secure the win.

One such play was a block on Toronto guard Fred Van Vleet, which Williams was pleasantly surprised went his way.

“I was happy for that for one, because I didn’t get called for a foul, because I didn’t know where the ball was going or if they’d saw I’d got a piece of him or something like that, so I was just hyped that the ball was in the air and Jimmy [Butler] got the tip to Kemba [Walker].”

Another had a humorous ending thanks to a bailout from a teammate, but could have been a big black eye at the start of his career had things gone just a little different.

That play happened to be Williams missing two crucial free throws late in the final frame, Boston clinging to a razor-thin lead with less than a minute left.

“I was wondering when someone was going to ask me about that,” laughed the former Volunteer.

“In the moment, I was just happy that I had the call [go my way], and I was like, ‘I’m ready to go.'” added Williams. “I tried to stay as warm as possible prepared to go in and defend, and that’s all I knew I had to do.”

“It wasn’t more about me scoring the basketball; they weren’t going to give me the ball in the late-game situation, so my thing was just get a stop and keep doing that for for the team. And then when it came to the free throws, I was actually super confident going to the the line.

‘It’s just two free throws!’ Next thing you know, I hit back rim. ‘Well, that’s just a bad rim — looked good, felt good’. ‘Oh good’, next I shot the next one, [from] the same spot so I was like, ‘Oh my goodness’. I’ll never remember a time where I miss clutch free throws like that, so it definitely was a laughing moment for me when [Jayson Tatum] got the rebound.”

“I was like, ‘Thank you, JT, for saving my career here in Boston.'” he added jokingly.

While it wouldn’t have been the end of his career had things gone that route, it might be some time before his teammates put him in a similar position, and not just because the season would be over for the Celtics at that point.

Boston came together in the remaining seconds to secure the win however, largely through the defense of Williams and teammate Marcus Smart.

The Celtics are very lucky to have found such a level-headed, dependable rookie able to give them reliable minutes in a high-stakes postseason moment like Friday’s.

Even if he did miss those free throws.

[jwplayer VeR5AF63]

[lawrence-related id=41728,41714,41723,41720]