Tag: robert williams iii

On this date: Robert Williams III drafted; Eric Montross, George Kaftan traded

On this date, the Boston Celtics drafted Robert Williams III in the 2018 NBA draft, and traded George Kaftan and Eric Montross.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team selected one player of note in the 2018 NBA draft, held in New York. Texas A&M big man Robert Williams III, a rim-running, shot-blocking prospect, slid to the Celtics at No. 27.

Timelord — as Williams came to be called — is in his third season with Boston. While he had to deal with yet another season plagued with injury, he has shown considerable growth on both ends of the floor, even stealing the team’s starting role by the end of the 2020-21 NBA season.

To date, he’s had a career average of 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game with the Celtics.

Another looming offseason issue for Celtics: extending Robert Williams III

Does a rookie extension make sense for both parties given Timelord’s injury history?

While finding a new head coach to fill the vacancy created by his own promotion to team president is one major concern of the 2021 offseason for newly minted Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens, he’s got other major concerns on his plate to consider as well.

One of the tasks near the top of the list will be making a decision on whether to extend blossoming but often-injured big man Robert Williams III, and if so, for how much. While the Texas A&M product has become a force to be reckoned with when he’s on the court, his being on the court is one of the biggest considerations on if and for how much such an offer might being.

To that end, NBC Sports Boston’s “Celtics Talk” podcast recently hosted NBA cap expert Bobby Marks to talk tendering Timelord an extension offer this offseason.

WATCH: Robert Williams III scores 11 points, 9 blocks, 9 boards in Game 1 loss to Nets

Timelord out on a show for the ages in the losing effort despite his turf toe.

In Game 1 of the series between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets this past Saturday night, starting big man Robert Williams III made history, scoring 9 blocks (and 11 points and 9 rebounds in a near triple-double) in just 23 minutes of floor time, something no NBA player had done previously in over seven decades of league history.

“It doesn’t mean [expletive] if you lose,” shared a frustrated Timelord, but we do beg to differ. We all knew this wasn’t going to be Boston’s year with All-Star wing Jaylen Brown out for the season with a wrist injury. So, to see this kind of dominant performance from the Texas A&M product can only bode well for a healthy Celtics roster in a normal season.

Our favorite is when he eats James Harden’s shot attempt for dinner after following him out to the perimeter — and he did it playing through turf toe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfIPMLYNusk

Watch that and all his highlights from the Celtics’ 104 – 93 road loss in the video embedded above produced by Tomasz Kordylewski — it might not have ended in a win, but we’ll take the sky-high potential of Williams as a solid consolation prize.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Shams: Robert Williams III expected to play vs. Brooklyn Nets in Game 1

The Texas A&M product has been battling through the pain of a case of turf toe.

NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic has evidently heard some intel of interest for Boston Celtics fans ahead of their team’s pending Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets this Saturday evening — namely, that big man Robert Williams III is expected to play.

The Texas A&M product has been dealing with turf toe in his left foot (a painful sprain of a joint in the big toe), which has limited his ability to play in games. Timelord has had to call it quits at halftime for his last two outings, aggravating the joint after coming down on star forward Jayson Tatum’s foot in the team’s win over the Washington Wizards in the play-in game to secure the seventh seed.

After practice on Friday, Head Coach Brad Stevens confirmed that Williams had not participated in practice.

The springy center gives Boston a different look in its frontcourt that the Nets are ill-constructed to deal with when healthy, but the question remains just how much bounce — or even mobility — Williams will have if he even does try to play.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics injury update: Robert Williams III ‘still really sore,’ unlikely to practice Friday, per Stevens

Timelord sounds like his foot injury may keep him out of Game 1 against the Nets as well, if not longer.

While there’s still time for Boston Celtics starting center Robert Williams III to get healthy enough to play in Game 1 of the looming Eastern Conference first-round series against the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets on Saturday evening, from what we are hearing from Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens, it may be unrealistic to expect the Texas A&M to play.

Williams, who has been dealing with an acute case of turf toe (a joint sprain of the big toe) in his left foot, aggravated it in Tuesday night’s play-in tournament win against the Washington Wizards. “Robert Williams did not practice,” explained Stevens while speaking to the media after a practice session on Thursday.

“He’s still really sore,” he added. “It’ll continue to be day-to-day, but I can’t imagine him practicing tomorrow based on how he was walking around today.”

The Celtics already are significant underdogs in the series against the Nets, and losing Timelord for any length of time in the series only compounds the challenge Boston is soon to face.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics injury update: Robert Williams III downgraded to OUT vs. Miami Heat

Timelord will have to watch this tilt from his Tardis with his turf toe taking him out of the game.

The Boston Celtics will be facing the Miami Heat for a rematch of Sunday’s 130 – 124 home loss with an even thinner frontcourt than they started that last game with, revealing that starting center Robert Williams III will sit out the Tuesday evening contest at TD Garden — the last scheduled home game of the 2020-21 NBA season.

Williams tried to make a go of it in the two teams’ last meeting, but had to call it quits at halftime as his affliction with turf toe in his left foot — a painful sprain of one of the joints of the big toe — made it too hard to continue playing.

Added to news on Monday night that All-Star wing Jaylen Brown will miss the remainder of the season with a torn wrist tendon in need of surgery, and it seems the odds are even more stacked against Boston moving up in the standings with a win over the Heat.

The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and will likely see veteran center Tristan Thompson start in his place.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics injury update: Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams III upgraded ahead of Heat tilt

Juice and Timelord might be back in action against Miami with a little luck.

There’s a little good news to be had in the injury department for the Boston Celtics ahead of a critical game against the Miami Heat — both All-Star forward Jaylen Brown and starting big man Robert Williams III have been upgraded on the team’s latest injury report.

Brown missed the Celtics’ 121 – 99 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday with a right ankle sprain, and Williams with turf toe (a sprained joint in one’s foot) in his left foot, the loss putting the team in a much more precarious position for postseason seeding. Now, The Georgia native has been listed as questionable and Timelord as probably for the early-afternoon tilt with the Heat.

Boston will need to weigh whether rest or a likely trip to the NBA’s play-in game are more important for both players moving forward, with solid arguments for both perspectives depending on what one believes this team’s realistic postseason ceiling is.

The Celtics take the floor against Miami at TD Garden at 1 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 9.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: What do the Boston Celtics miss the most without Robert Williams III?

Timelord’s absence is not a minor one for Boston.

Boston Celtics starting center Robert Williams III has not played a game since April 13th against the Portland Trail Blazers, missing the team’s last six games, only two of which have been losses.

But a casual glance at the Celtics’ record over that stretch doesn’t give you the same read as the eye test when watching Boston play in recent games. Something hasn’t felt quite right in his absence, and his return date has already been moved back once. Do the Celtics have a big man issue to be worrying about? And just how critical is Timelord to Boston’s postseason potential?

Did they make a big mistake moving on from big man Daniel Theis at the trade deadline?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJjJJFhddSE

The hosts of the CLNS Media podcast “Celtics Beat” Adam Kaufmann and Evan Valenti are joined by NBC Boston Sports’ Abby Chin to talk exactly these issues in their most recent episode.

Watch the video embedded above to get their takes on Boo Butt’s banged up knee and how important it is for him to get back on the floor for Boston.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Robert Williams III scores 16 points, 7 boards, 4 assists vs. Blazers (4/13)

Timelord continues to thrive as a starter.

Boston Celtics starting center Robert Williams III continues to excel in his new role as Boston’s primary big man, having put up another solid game for the Celtics in their 116 – 115 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday evening.

The Texas A&M product would score a total of 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while connecting on 8 of his 12 total shot attempts in 26 minutes of game time. In that stretch, he only had 2 personal fouls and just 1 turnover, a return to the more level-headed play we’ve seen from Timelord of late.

Williams seems to be getting more comfortable as a starter by the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dzWKkd0dxU

Watch the Louisiana native’s best plays from the win over Portland in the video embedded above produced by Tomasz Kordylewski to see how the big man did for yourself.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics coach Brad Stevens talks Timelord’s fouling vs. Sixers’ Joel Embiid

The Celtics coach deflected blame away from Williams after his foul-heavy outing vs. the MVP candidate.

While it might not have been his most shining moment as a Boston Celtics starting center, big man Robert Williams III did his best against an MVP-caliber big man in the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, and Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens defended the Texas A&M product’s performance against him after the Celtics 106 – 96 loss to the Sixers on Tuesday.

Embiid lived at the free throw line in that game, connecting on 19 of 20 attempts from the stripe — and while Timelord was certainly guilty of creating a handful of those attempts, he was far from the only culpable party on the roster that night.

“Yeah, Rob’s got a lot to work on,” explained Stevens, “He’s a guy that’ll get better.”