Time Lord made his presence felt every second he was on the floor in Game 4. Not even a bit of foul trouble as the score got tight could slow Robert Williams down, with perhaps his most impressive play being a diving steal-turned-assist, which resulted in a Jaylen Brown throwdown.
Oddly enough, that steal was one of Boston’s four in the 129-121 win. Williams accounted for one other, and Al Horford had the other two. But that’s just the start of it with Time Lord, who also blocked two shots.
The big man dominated the glass, grabbing 15 boards on the night — three on the offensive end. With 11 of Boston’s points coming off second-chance opportunities in the eight-point win, those three offensive rebounds alone were huge. In one instance where he salvaged an offensive rebound, Williams also converted an and-one at a point when the Hawks trailed by only four.
The free throw converted on that trip was one of his five made attempts, missing just one shot at the line on the night. Those helped lead to his 13 points, along with Williams’ first career double-double in a playoff game and seventh of the season (when factoring in his 35 regular season appearances).
And Williams’ strong play clearly didn’t go unnoticed or undervalued by Joe Mazzulla, who kept the big man on the floor for 28:53 in Game 4. Sunday’s win was his longest performance of the young 2023 NBA Playoffs by almost exactly six minutes, which may be the most important note from his showing when looking ahead.
Since his eight-game absence from early to mid-March, Williams has only played more than 25 minutes twice, excluding Game 4. Also, Sunday’s win is only the second time since March 21 he’s played 28-plus minutes. Yet, Time Lord never let up.
Boston knows what Williams can do when he’s feeling his best. Rim protector, beast on the boards and quick-dish option in the paint on the offensive end. That’s just the stuff he makes look easy, with the aforementioned diving steal serving as evidence of the effort he’s ready to bring.
There’s no denying what he can do when healthy. Unfortunately, anyone who knows anything about Williams knows health is the one concern with his game. Right now, Mazzulla and his staff seem to be managing that well, but it’s something that must remain a top priority for the franchise on a day-to-day basis until this run concludes.