Proceeding with caution
C’s stay conservative in plan for Robert Williams’ minutes
NEW YORK — The mere emotional pickup the Celtics have drawn from Robert Williams’ return to the lineup has already paid a dividend.
But heading into Game 4 Monday night in Barclays Center, Ime Udoka continued to follow a conservative path with his young center.
“No setbacks. All positive reaction to those minutes and he can get in the 24 range like last game,” the Celtics coach said of Williams’ new ceiling, representing an increase of about five minutes. “He played a little less than he could have (in Game 3). But he will not start the game.”
But Williams’ return has already had an effect that stretches beyond the floor.
“I think it was great to have him back on the court. And, just in general, even going through the walkthrough and things he did before last game. Everybody gave him a nice little cheer in the locker room after the win,” said Udoka. “Just to have him back is obviously a big layer to what we do defensively. The other guys have done a great job in his absence.
“But just having him out there as another body we can, obviously, like I always talk about with Al, shaving down those minutes,” he said. “And the elite rim protection and versatility he gives us is huge, but more so than anything, happy that he’s back healthy and pain free and able to increase those minutes and help us in what we’re doing.”
Grant Williams refines his game
Grant Williams went into Game 4 with on big scoring game under his belt (17 points, Game 2) while also shooting 10-for-18, including an even 40% (4-for-10) from downtown. Though he’s given the Celtics a big boost with his physical play at both ends, the young power forward has also made his presence felt from deeper range, most notably in the corners.
“It’s just a matter of repetition,” Williams said of what he’s been working on. “For me, that’s never really been (an issue) because the 3-point shooting has not necessarily been my game over my life. Like, I’ve always been bully ball or like playmaker or anything else. Like post player in college and before that more so playmaking more than shooting. So, that’s really what it is.
“Just a matter of repetition and getting those shots up and getting the looks that you see here during a game. That’s kind of what I work on now. Whatever I think the team will need, whether it’s just me spot shooting or whether it’s me on movement or whether it’s me screening and rolling and making plays, all of that stuff is kind of how I view it. And I improve my individual game throughout the individual work on my own.
Those are the biggest things, where it’s like do what the team needs and then also try to continue to improve for next season for when they expect you to roll a little bit.”
Protecting against overconfidence
The Celtics had a chance to produce the only sweep in the playoff field Monday night, which, based on some of their past behavior, could be a dangerous bit of knowledge. “I mean (think of) the opponent, the guys that we’ve held down to some extent, understanding how quick a series can flip and change and not trying to give them any hope or momentum,” said Udoka. “And so continue to do what we’ve done well. We had another good film session today showing a lot of areas of improvement. And so when they see that and see we held the team to 103 and and did well on the two scorers, but other areas we can really improve on, I think it’s last two games, especially, our starts haven’t been the best.
“So want to come out with a better start, defensively especially, on those guys. A lot of free room and Irving goes 0-for-7, and five of those looks we’re pretty wide open. So a lot areas we can improve on and understanding that they can get going in at the drop of a dime. And we got to combat that early.”