There’s no question Robert Williams’ absence impacts the Celtics most on the defensive end. He’s the rim protector Boston has needed for a long time, inserting himself in the NBA All-Defensive conversation.
In fact, some around the league think Robert Williams belongs in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation — one being 2016-17 DPOY and six-time NBA All-Defensive selection Draymond Green.
“Having an incredible year,” the Golden State forward said on his podcast about Williams during a recent episode featuring Jayson Tatum. “Having a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber type of season.”
But that’s not all Green has noticed from Time Lord. He also touched on Williams’ impact on the offensive end. Although, not in the way most might expect, given the center’s high-flying nature.
“No one talks about his offense,” Green said. “He is one of the best passing big men in the league right now. Now, take that with a grain of salt because (Nikola) Jokic passes better than all the point guards. We’re not putting nobody in Joker category. He’s a little different than everybody. … Legit big men don’t have the ball all the time. Robert Williams is one of the best passing big men that I have seen, and no one talks about it.
“I think that’s a huge loss for y’all.”
Then Green got into Williams' impact on the rim at the offensive end. He first realized how tough Boston’s big man can be on offense when studying film ahead of the Warriors’ visit to TD Garden in December.
“So we’re in shootaround before the game (in Boston), and I stop the walk through, and I’m like, ‘Fellas, listen, y’all have to understand: If you are even with Robert Williams, he is going to dunk on you. He will catch the lob on your head. I just watched him catch three of them on AD (Anthony Davis) in one game. And that’s AD. If you’re even with him, he’s going to catch it on your head, so you got to stay below him.
“I’m like animated and telling them … and I get in the pick and roll, and I’m dropped. I thought I was beneath him, and he still caught the lob on my head. … To have that threat where you literally just put it up anywhere and he’s going to get it, people don’t understand … to me, having a lob threat … what they do for your floor spacing is equal to what a shooter does for your floor spacing because you can’t leave the body.”
If it wasn’t clear how much of a loss this was for the Celtics before, well, now you know.