The Boston Celtics were without Grant Williams when they lost in overtime at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
The C’s did not have one of their best bench players because he was suspended:
Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams has been suspended one game for his role in ejection Monday night vs. Bulls.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 26, 2022
Celtics fans feel that the suspension was unwarranted, but on the bright side, it came early in the 2022-23 season.
Williams was ejected from Monday’s loss as well.
Here is how he was ejected:
— 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) October 26, 2022
Nevertheless, the Celtics struggled on both Monday and Friday.
They continued to play subpar defense to begin the season.
The absence of Williams on Friday showed that it was difficult for the Celtics to play consistently well without him.
Boston came out of the gate not playing well against the Cavaliers.
The Celtics went down double digits early on in the contest.
Then, it was a tremendous second quarter for Boston.
The green went into halftime with a 75-62 lead.
However, the Cavaliers outscored the Celtics in the third and fourth quarters and overtime.
Boston really missed Williams in what can be described as yet another inconsistent defensive effort.
How Is Williams Important?
Williams shows his importance in many different ways.
An easy metric to describe his play is plus/minus:
- 2021-22: +145 (seventh on the Celtics)
- 2022-23: +22 (third)
Last season, Williams led the team with 77 games played and he continues to be a big contributor from 3-point land:
- 2021-22: .411 3-point percentage (16th in the NBA)
- 2022-23: .667 3-point percentage (second)
Williams will return for the game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
The Celtics hope that he will give them that much-needed boost.
If so, then maybe Sunday could be another strong contest on the resume of future restricted free agent Grant Williams.
