Every game of the NBA Finals is live on Sky Sports: Watch Warriors @ Celtics – Game 4, live on Sky Sports Arena & Main Event, on Friday night from 1.45am followed by a repeat on Sky Sports Action from 8am
Thursday 9 June 2022 10:16, UK
Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III did not get out of single figures in the scoring column during Game 3, but his impact in his team's victory was massive.
Defensively he is a colossus and is the kind of player who regularly snatches rebounds he has no right to grab hold of.
Considering he's playing hampered in terms of carrying a knee injury, the 'Time Lord' is making a remarkable impact in his maiden NBA Finals. He was pivotal in the Boston Celtics' 116-100 Game 3 victory which has given the C's the advantage once again in the best-of-seven series.
It means Boston can move within one win of the franchise's 18th NBA title with another victory at TD Garden in Game 4, live on Sky Sports Arena & Main Event, from 1.45am overnight on Friday.
After a third-quarter surge (we have seen that movie before) saw the Warriors fight back until they actually took the lead, Boston battened down the hatches in the fourth quarter to make sure of victory on Wednesday night.
"We talked about it quite a bit, our group being resilient and being able to fight through a lot of things and at times when it's most needed being able to lock down on defense," Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. "We did in the fourth quarter."
Williams was a massive part of that with his imposing physicality.
"It was huge," Udoka said of Williams' impact. "Not only the shots that he did block but the ones he altered, and his presence down there of course deters guys from driving. He was a big part of what we did."
Williams, who has been working his way back from knee surgery, finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. He also finished a team-high plus-21 in terms of plus-minus, highlight how much he impacts the team as a whole when he is on the floor.
His team-mate Marcus Smart was named Defensive Player of the Year this year, but had it not been for the number of games he missed through injury, perhaps that award would have headed Williams' way. Certainly, he would have been All-Defensive first team rather than second team.
Those in the Boston locker room, certainly appreciate what he brings to the table.
"He does everything for us," Smart said. "It makes us even more dangerous, the way he attacks the rim and [provides] the aerial lob threat for us. It puts a lot of pressure on defenses, especially the ones where they're not very big in their five position. With all the things he can do we can just lob the ball all up there and let him go do it. It is remarkable. When he's doing that, and he's protecting that paint, and moving the way he's moving, it makes us that much, much more dangerous."
"Rob is really a game-changer," frontcourt running partner Al Horford said. "We're very fortunate to have a guy like that that impacts winning in the way that he does, because it's beyond the numbers with him. It's just all the things that he brings, being in the right places."
Williams is dealing with constant discomfort in his left knee and is going through hours of treatment to get his knee feeling decent enough to play on for each game, recognising that opportunities to play in the NBA Finals do not come around often, if at all for NBA players. Horford, who has been waiting 15 years to get to this stage, will attest to that.
"I'm just trying to be accountable for my team," said Williams. "We've made it this far. I had a discussion with myself, by pushing through this. I'm happy with how it's going. We'll worry about the injury after the season, but for now, I'm still fighting.
"Knowing what I'm playing for, taking the risk of playing and getting this far, I've obviously got more work to do. But it's worth it, for sure."
Jaylen Brown, who led the team in scoring with 27 points, recognised that part of the reason they were able to get their offense going was because of the defensive security and flexibility provided by having such a mobile and skilled defensive big man anchoring their team.
"Rob is an excellent defensive player. In my opinion, he could have won Defensive Player of the Year as well, In that category with Smart, but he had some injuries. That probably took him out the running. But Rob when he's healthy, and he's out there moving like [that]. He's one of the better defensive players in the league. So no surprise tonight.
"Rob has been great at covering up our mistakes all season, but we try to minimise our mistakes as much as possible to make his job easier. So you know, when he's healthy, he just adds a whole another element on top of our defense already being good. It's up to great.
"With him being out earlier in the playoffs and allowed our defense to clean up those mistakes. So now he's back and now we've been able to get things going on that side."
Boston was the number one defensive team in the league this season and a big factor in that has been the leap that Williams has taken.
It's never easy combatting injuries though and when taking into account the demands of an 82-game regular season plus however many playoff games your team might play, players have to be careful they do not over-exert themselves and risk any long-term damage to their career. The NBA Finals, though, might be an exception to the rule given that it's the biggest stage there is and might only come along once in your career.
Smart, who has plenty of experience playing through pain and managing injuries, has been helping to guide his younger team-mate through the process
"I'm constantly talking to Rob, just for the simple fact that I know what he's going through," said Smart. "He's hurting, and even though he's hurt, he still wants to get out and help his team. But at the same time, he's thinking about his career.
"I just told him, your body, you know what you can withstand and what you can't, but, just, we've got a chance to do something special. And there are no guarantees that we'll be back here. So, if you can go, we'll take 20 per cent of you, that's better than none of you.
"He understood that and, you know, he decided to go out there and put his big boy pants on and suck it up – and [he was] going crazy."
With a title on the line it makes sense for him to fight with everything he has to make sure he's available and no doubt, having him able to play gives the Celtics a much better chance of lifting the Larry O'Brien.
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