9 questions with Celtics rookie Grant Williams
"If Enes said he's the glue, I'll be the heartbeat."
Grant Williams stayed up until 3 a.m. in anticipation of his first NBA training camp practice, but the rookie feels good about his first day.
The Celtics held their first official practice of the 2019-20 NBA season on Tuesday at the Auerbach Center, where the forward had his first taste of preseason in a green and gold uniform. After practice, Williams chatted about the day, how his offseason training prepared for him for it, and how he wants to be the “heartbeat” of the team this season.
He’s also an avid gamer, and said games like “Pokemon Go!” keep his “mind engaged” off the court. He might even try to get some teammates to play, too.
Q: How was the first day of camp? How does it feel to get that underway?
Williams: Amazing! Great first day, there were a lot of things we got better at – a lot of communication, a lot of things we learned.
Were you nervous going into the first day? What was going through your head?
For me it’s always been anxious, no matter where I’m at. First game, first day, first practice – that’s just how I always am. I always get the nerves ready to go, [but] it’s not necessarily nervous. When it comes to getting ready I just get really hyped up.
I stayed up until 3 a.m. thinking about [today]. That’s just how my mental is, I get super locked in, super ready. I came in prepared, got here early and I tried to do whatever it takes to have our team get some success.
What do you want to focus on in training camp and preseason?
The biggest thing I focus on is being consistent on the defensive end on the court and then knocking down shots when I get them and taking shots when I get them. There’s a couple of times today where I was hesitant but that can’t happen. That’s just going to take overtime getting used to playing with these guys. It was a solid day for sure and coaches did a great job breaking things down piece by piece.
How do feel the team is building chemistry in practices like today?
It’s great. You see where guys have their opportunity and what the quality of the player is. The more you play with someone the more comfortable you are and the more you know them. That’s why these practices, in the beginning, getting reps and getting used to playing with these guys is huge. It was really good not only understanding our teammates, but understanding how we’re going to play this year.
What did you do during the summer to prepare for camp?
I know that when it comes to just reading plays and seeing things, I’m consistent and I know I’ll be prepared that way. The biggest thing for me was proving that I can not only defend on the perimeter, but also shoot the deep ball. Those are the two things I’ll continue to focus on this entire year, and then after that I’ll look to improve on more stuff as we go.
Our summer was pretty packed because as rookies you have to go through all these camps, workouts, combine and transition programs so it was just a lot of movement and traveling, but it’s nothing you can’t be used to because we’re going to be traveling to all the games this year. Summer was full of not only just workouts and improving, but also trying to make a mark and get set in an organization like the Celtics.
Enes Kanter has said that he wants to be the ‘glue guy’ for the team this season. What do you want your role to be on the team?
I usually call myself the glue, but if Enes said [that], I’ll be the heartbeat. The one that keeps everyone going, fuels energy to everyone else and is consistent and is going to be there for you. That’s the role I want to be: the guy that you need.
If he’s the glue and you’re the heartbeat, what would other players roles be?
Sheesh, I don’t know. There’s a lot of extremities on this team. Everyone has a vital role and everyone is special in their own way. I’d definitely give Marcus [Smart] the mouth because he’s always talking.
[Marcus Smart walks by]
Smart: Here you go! Do your interview man!
Williams: It’s a great team, a lot of guys get along.
Tell me about what you’re doing off the court. I see you’re playing “Pokemon Go!”.
I play it, I’m a big community game guy in general: “Mario Kart” is a good game, “Pokemon Go!” because I was a huge Pokemon fan back in the day. I was a Nintendo guy. I’m big on doing things with people, so “Pokemon Go!” is something you can do.
Have you played with the team?
I’ve yet to know if someone [on the team] is on that wave. Tacko [Fall] is someone I try to get on the wave [but] I don’t think he’s a huge Pokemon fan, he’s a huge anime guy. But we’ll see. Romeo [Langford] is about 12 years old so, he probably would be able to get it.
The [games] are a thing to take your mind off everything. You try to keep your mind engaged and active throughout the day, and I put a lot of time in the gym, so for me it’s always been about finding things that can keep myself engaged off the court.
