The knee injury that Robert Williams sustained near the end of the 2021/22 season continues to be an issue for the Celtics big man, who will undergo arthroscopic surgery on that troublesome left knee, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), the procedure is expected to require a recovery period of four-to-six weeks. Williams will miss training camp and the preseason, but the hope is that he’ll be back in the Celtics’ lineup early in the regular season, Woj says, adding that the plan is for him to have the surgery later this week (Twitter link).
Williams initially underwent surgery on the knee in March after tearing his meniscus. He was able to return to the court less than a month later and played a part in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals, though he wasn’t at 100% in the postseason. The 24-year-old sat out five games in the second and third rounds of the playoffs and reportedly required extensive treatment as he dealt with fluid build-up.
Williams enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22, establishing new career highs in PPG (10.0), RPG (9.6), BPG (2.2), games played and started (61), field goal percentage (73.6%), and several other categories. He also helped anchor the NBA’s top defense.
As Deveney writes, the hope was that Williams would be ready to go this fall after resting the knee during the offseason, but it appears that won’t be the case. The procedure will leave the Celtics – already missing Danilo Gallinari due to a torn ACL – shorthanded in the frontcourt to open the season.
Al Horford, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, camp invitee Noah Vonleh, and two-way player Mfiondu Kabengele are among Boston’s top available big men heading into training camp. As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), we’ll likely see Jayson Tatum play plenty of minutes at power forward in the early going to help fill the gaps in the depth chart.
so it’s a 36-year-old Horford, a journeyman in Kornet, and Kabengle on a two-way contract.
Not sure what Stevens was thinking here. The Celtics now have 5 starting caliber guards in Brown, Smart, White, Brogdon, and Pritchard, and one starting caliber big.
Trading Pritchard or White for a big should have been a no brainer.
Been saying this all off season. They legitimately should sign Dwight Howard
Howard doesn’t work in their system at all.
Yes. I am gonna start by saying “I Told You So”! @curtisrowe is on the money. Horford is past his prime. Kornet is a journeyman. Kabengle has proven to not be capable of taking on NBA minutes.
You signed an aging and washed Danilo Gallinari, who is already out for the year with an injury.
Robert Williams will spend most of the season injured. He is always hurt! Grinding it out during the playoffs last year, cemented his Injured List status for this year.
Boston’s frontcourt depth is a mess!
Danny Ainge is looking smarter by the day. Celtics won’t be the last contender looking to fill holes, and being forced to overpay dealing with Utah.
All of this also makes Minnesota look even more foolish for the Gobert trade. Miami is likely to play Jimmy Butler at power forward. This article reference Jayson Tatum playing a lot of PF now for Boston. How the hell is KAT gonna guard Butler, Tatum, or any other small ball PF??????
@very
How’s Butler going to guard a 7ft center who CAN manhandle him in the post and shoot 3s at a 40% clip? Meanwhile Butler can’t shoot from outside and has to contend with KAT and a 7ft perennial DPOY center guarding the rim. We can all criticize Minny but they got the player they wanted. The Cavs showed how manning multiple 7ft guys can work together. They had 3!!!
Sure, because every team would trade a legit big for PP or White, eh?
PP….hehehe
Trade white,kornet and Prichard and a 1st and second for Myles Turner. Sign IT for the fans
Don’t be racist Boston, sign Carmelo!
I know, right? Williams going down and melo not being signed is proof positive Stevens is a grand wizard.
Lol
Boston Celtics shouldn’t even look in Carmelo Anthony direction. Carmelo Anthony isn’t a team player. Robert Williams is doing what’s right for he can have a nice season and career.
@slap
that would be soooooo much funnier if almost every other player on the roster wasn’t Black. I mean.. even the White guy is Black.
Howard is actually an excellent sign. What is Williams value to Celtics team. It’s rim protector and rebounding. Howard has done that longer than Williams has bounced a ball. All Celtics would need is 20-25 mins. Then he’s insurance when Williams comes back. It’s called depth. All contenders have it.
Willams can guard anyone 1 through 5. The Celtics defensive scheme is built around him switching on everyone, kind of playing free safety. It isn’t just about him rebounding and protecting the rim at all.
Check this. link link to twitter.com
Which says “Players are shooting 6.4% worse than their normal FG% when guarded by Robert Williams. That negative difference is the biggest by any defender with 500+ shots defended this season.”
He can’t guard 1,2,3. Get real. Switching off is not guarding, please. Obviously you don’t understand what I’m saying. So I’ll talk in rookie language. His best value is rim protector and rebounding. That’s what he HAS to do. Yes he’s a team D guy. And Celtics play team D.
Howard is going to give what Williams does best. It means (He Helps). He’s not here to replace him. Howard will do the job. Then he can backup. Which is what Celts need anyway. Is another big.
Therefore it’s a smart move. It’s a move that helps. Not to mention you get a vet who understands winning. And the position the Celtics are in. It’s a nobrainer, plus it’s for the minimum.
Howard cant do the job in their defensive system. Obviously.
@curtis
Howard can’t help on switches the way Williams cam but it’s better to have a guy that can do 60% of what Williams does best than to have nothing and right now bigs with positive defensive value are drying up. Howard is clearly the best option.
Point taken, but to be honest, I would rather have someone young and hungry that can play within their system.
@curtis
of course you do. so would every other team including Boston. a guy like Herbert Jones fits the criteria and would be great but he’s already locked down and isn’t available. thus, leading us to look at the available options
Howard doesn’t fit what they do is the point. Even Kornet is a good passer who can shoot the 3. Williams isn’t a good outside shooter but is an excellent passer.
Howard doesn’t fit their system defensively or offensively.
Get Cousins or Howard to fill in the time. Gives Boston a chance to see if they could help. If not they can just waive them
Whiteside is still available. Henry Giles is out there too. I think Nolle.
It’s good they’re doing the procedure now. It will be interesting to see if they sign an insurance backup.