Injured Celtics center Robert Williams will return to action in Saturday’s Game 3 against the Nets, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Coach Ime Udoka said Williams will come off the bench and is expected to play in short spurts totaling 20 to 24 minutes.
Williams has been sidelined since having a surgical procedure in late March for a torn meniscus in his left knee. Boston was able to win the first two game of the series without Williams’ presence in the middle.
There have been reports over the past week or so that Williams was making progress and was targeting Game 3 or 4 for a possible return. His original recovery timeline was four to six weeks after suffering the injury on March 27 and undergoing surgery a few days later, so he’s coming back ahead of schedule.
The fourth-year center played an important role in the Celtics’ late-season rise up the standings to the No. 2 seed. He became a full-time starter this year and posted career-best numbers across the board with averages of 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 61 games.
Sounds kind of quick return for a meniscus tear. I hope they’re not rushing him back.
He’s a big part of their future and even though it’s the playoffs and all hands on deck, rushing him back could shoot the themselves in the foot if they make it to the Conference Finals or finals.
Nas.Ref. says Rbt Wlms played the PF 43% of his time, and that figure was probably on the rise in the season’s second half with Horford as the center… Rbt Wlms is good at guarding wings and still gets blocks.
Boston D continues amazing.