3 thoughts on the Boston Celtics recent turnaround

Boston Celtics thought No. 3: Rob Williams is the Celtics X-Factor every night

It’s clear that Rob Williams brings a different skill set to the table than most of the other players on Boston’s roster. He has a vertical explosiveness that no one else on this roster possesses, on both ends of the court too nonetheless. When he’s healthy and in the lineup, the Celtics are ten times more dangerous.

So far on the season, Williams is averaging 9.4 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game, and 1.4 assists per game. He’s also good for around two blocks and one steal per game on the defensive end. He’s a jack-of-all-trades at the five spot for the C’s, and when he’s on the court, you can’t help but notice how much smoother things go for the team.

Offensively, the threat of Williams attacking the rim opens up so many other avenues for the Celtics. One wrong step when Williams is rolling to the rim can result in an explosive dunk for the big man. As a result, defenses shrink inward to protect themselves from the threat of a lob pass to Williams, and that opens more shots at the perimeter. Without Williams, that threat doesn’t really exist on this team.

Defensively, Williams is the anchor that holds the team together. Boston’s perimeter defenders can realistically play higher up on shooters because they know they have Williams lurking in the paint if the ball ends up there. Opposing players are going to think twice about taking layups near Williams considering he’s averaging close to two blocks a game.

Williams is the X-factor on pretty much every given night because his presence is so important to this team. You never really know what you are going to get from him (for example, he had just two points against the Rockets last night, but picked up 15 rebounds along the way), but you know he’s going to have an impact on the game regardless.

Behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Williams is the most important player on the Celtics roster, and his ability to influence games for Boston is going to be increasingly important over their tough slate of upcoming games.