Robert Williams is in such a better place now than he was last season that it can basically go unsaid.
Last year at this time, the Celtics center was still recovering from left knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Now, after another surgery in September and cautious management throughout the season, Williams is not only available for the start of the playoffs, but performing at a high level.
“I feel great, man,” Williams said Tuesday when asked how much better he feels than last year. “I’ll just leave it at that. I feel great.”
Saturday’s Game 1 victory over the Hawks featured moments of Williams at his best. He was dominant defensively, which included a phenomenal block in the first quarter when he surged from the weak side to swat Jalen Johnson at the rim. He was active offensively with several lob dunks.
Williams did so off the bench, a role he’s continuing to embrace. Last season, all 61 of his regular season games and 15 of his 17 playoff games were starts. This season, 20 of his 35 regular season games were off the bench, including five of the last seven. The first two games of the playoffs have been in reserve roles, even against a bigger Hawks lineup. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is continuing to roll with Derrick White in the starting group during a career season for the guard.
There was never any issue from Williams about it.
“I don’t really care about starting,” Williams said. “I just want to win. I feel like we’ve been winning.”
Mazzulla insisted there was no phoniness to that statement.
“It’s 100 percent genuine,” he said. “One-hundred percent. He could care less. I would say that for all of our guys. They really just want to win.”
“We have a bunch of guys that don’t really care that want to win. This is a very well connected locker room that has a lot of experience that has seen a lot of success and failures. And we’re in a window now where everybody’s willing to put everything aside to want to win and I’m grateful for that and that makes our staff be able to coach this with a little bit more comfort, but it’s also a reason why we have a chance to be a really, really good team.”
There’s a possibility Williams returns to the starting lineup – where he was a game-changer in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals last season – at some point in these playoffs. In the meantime, he’s still been just as impactful off the bench and he’s staying fresh while playing fewer minutes.
“I can watch, you know, be pretty decisive on where I need to insert my energy in the game,” Williams said about the role. “Just keeping things rolling with that second group man, I feel like I’m bringing great energy with that second group. I feel like we get out and run well together. …
“Just knowing in the second group that we’re coming in behind great players, we gotta keep the same tempo and the same standard. Just like they pick us up, we need to pick them up sometimes.”