Second-year Boston Celtics reserve center Robert Williams III isn’t taking well to doctor-ordered rest.
Like any competitor, he’d prefer to be on the court.
But a bone edema — an injury on the fracture scale that needs to be treated with caution — in his left hip has forced the springy big man to rest until his injury can be reassessed to see if the inactivity has helped him heal.
The Shreveport native had been having a strong second season before the injury, logging 3.9 points, 4.6 boards, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 blocks over 14.2 minutes per game, and looked poised to earn a bigger role as his passing in particular progressed.
Watching his teammates enjoy a successful season (last night’s stinker against the Toronto Raptors an exception) has been a struggle to the Texas A&M product, who is not allowed to participate in any basketball activities until he’s cleared by the medical staff.
Robert Williams on his injury: "it’s messing with my head not being able to do anything.”
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@RedsArmy_John) December 28, 2019
But what does that mean, exactly?
“Just really, I can’t do anything basketball related,” he said (via MassLive’s John Karalis). “I won’t be jumping, dunking, or anything, so it’s messing with my head not being able to do anything,” the Louisianian added.
Timelord’s initial assessment called for a review of his situation in about three weeks on the 16th of December, meaning he should be coming up on the timetable for a reassessment in the next several days.
Though, from the sound of Williams’ comments, it could be a little longer.
Robert Williams talked briefly about his injury situation. He says he can’t do any basketball activities, but he doesn’t feel any pain.
“That’s why it sucks.”
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) December 28, 2019
“I think I’m getting another MRI in like a week or two, see how it’s looking,” he explained. “I feel like after we get the MRI results, that’s when we can decide how we’re going to handle it if it occurs again,” Williams offered.
Pain-free, the former Aggie just wants to get back on a parquet to practice if not play, and if anything having to wait despite not feeling anything bothering his has been the hardest aspect of his recovery.
Without another MRI, it’s impossible to know what kind of timetable we can expect for the big man to return to action.
But the intense desire to get back to work and the lack of aggravation in non-basketball activity has at least been promising for when he does.