Robert Williams anticipated to make season debut vs. Magic

After what looks as if an eternity, it might seem that Robert Williams is about to make his season debut for the Boston Celtics once they face off towards the Orlando Magic on Friday, December 16, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

In March of this yr, Williams was recognized with a meniscus tear in his left knee, forcing him to have surgical procedure to restore the difficulty. Fortunately, the highly-impactful middle returned to the rotation mid-way by means of the primary spherical of the playoffs, though he clearly struggled with health and recreation sharpness. Issues went from dangerous to worse for Williams over the summer season when it was reported that he can be present process a second surgical procedure on his knee, and has been rehabbing from that surgical procedure ever since.

With out Williams within the rotation, the Celtics have slowly developed their protection all through the opening months of the brand new season and at the moment sit eighth within the NBA for defensive score. Nonetheless, with the addition of Williams, a 2022 All-Defensive middle, Boston’s protection will seemingly kick up a gear. Moreover, regardless of his extended absence, Williams returns to a Celtics crew that at the moment leads the NBA with a 22-7 report, courtesy of a league-leading offense that’s placing up 116.8 factors per 100 possessions.

In his first full season as a starter, Williams skilled a breakout yr, averaging 10.0 factors, 9.6 rebounds, and a couple of.2 blocks whereas capturing 73.6 % from the sector. Nonetheless, it needs to be famous that it’s unlikely we’ll see Williams return to that degree of play within the rapid future as he continues to work in the direction of being in recreation form, that means we’re almost definitely going to see the high-flying massive man working underneath a minutes restriction for the foreseeable future — one thing which is smart because the Celtics proceed to maintain one eye on the post-season.

Nonetheless, Williams’ return might be greeted with optimism and pleasure, as for the primary time this season; we’ll seemingly see a considerably full-strength roster take to the courtroom as Boston appears to beat a Magic crew that has been on a tear in current video games.