‘I don’t think it’s a big surprise’: Robert Williams, Brad Stevens react to the big man’s first start of the season
Williams put up a career-high six assists in the Celtics' win over the Bucks.
Robert Williams did all the right things in his first start of the season.
The Celtics’ new starting center may not have scored much in their 122-114 win over the Bucks on Friday night. Williams scored seven points and had nine rebounds over 27 minutes.
Williams’s two biggest contributions on the stat sheet came from a familiar and an unfamiliar place. The shot-blocker had five blocks, which is nothing new for him as he’s recorded at least four blocks in a game six other times this season. The eye-popping stat was Williams’s six assists, as he set a new career-high. Williams looked to get his fellow starters involved from the jump, too, recording five of those assists in the first half.
Williams added two steals, helping the Celtics outscore the Bucks by 19 points in the time he was on the floor.
The stats Williams put up aligned with his mindset for Friday’s game.
“I feel like I did what I’m put out there to do,” Williams told reporters after the game. “I generated a lot of energy for me and my teammates. It’s my job to do that stuff.”
Williams also noticed his contributions in the assist-game, too.
“I feel like I put more of an emphasis on getting [my teammates] open shots,” Williams said. “When I play with the starters, I try to get them to their spots. Just feed into what they need at the beginning of the game.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens took notice of the performance Williams put on Friday night. One thing the coach noticed was that Williams was able to adjust with not having as many scoring opportunities as a starter.
“I’m assuming he was comfortable with how everything went tonight as we certainly were. He did a good job,” Stevens said. “I don’t think it’s a big surprise. Scoring opportunities may not be there as much in the starting lineup because you’re playing against the best players.
“I thought he did a great job impacting the game with his rebounding, his passing. He’s certainly a threat down there at the rim, which people have to look out for. So, it’s a little bit different than how we’ve played with bigs in the past where you have some skill and being able to shoot the ball and those type of things, but he does draw attention when he’s on the baseline and rolling to the rim which opens up things for other shooters.”
Stevens expects Williams to start at center at least in the near future. Stevens said he doesn’t expect Tristan Thompson to return “in the next couple of games.” Thompson missed his seventh straight game Friday due to COVID protocols.
With Thompson is still out, Stevens didn’t commit to a starter for longer than the period he’s out. Still, Stevens was encouraged by what he saw from Williams on Friday night.
“Well, he’s got to create a great synergy with the starters as far as helping them get open and getting them the right looks and those type of things,” Stevens said. “I thought he did a good job tonight. Listen, he’s clearly our best big that’s here and that’s not a knock on Moe [Wagner] or Luke [Kornet], he’s just ahead of those guys.”
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