Robert Williams explains Game 1 exit, why he didn’t play in Game 7 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Robert Williams gave the Boston Celtics 28 excellent minutes on Tuesday night, but he also gave them a bit of a scare.
With about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics big man came up limping on his left leg after getting tangled with Bam Adebayo under the basket.
That was cause for concern because Williams hadn’t played in Boston’s previous four games due to soreness in his left knee, which needed surgery to repair his torn meniscus in late March. But Williams confirmed Wednesday he was just dealing with calf cramps.
Forsberg: How will Celtics respond to embarrassing stretch vs. Heat?
“Yeah, last night was just cramps,” Williams told reporters. “I was trying to yell at (the bench) from the court. I know when they saw me grabbing my knee, everybody started panicking, but I was trying to yell and tell them that I was just cramping. Like I said, basic fatigue.”
Williams had good reason to be tired: He played hard on both ends of the floor, tallying a postseason career-high 18 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks in his first game action since May 7.
Despite Boston’s 118-107 loss, Williams’ performance was encouraging after he was listed as available for Game 7 of the East semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks but didn’t enter the game. The 24-year-old admitted he wasn’t fully healthy for that contest but wanted to be in uniform in case his team needed him in a pinch.
“I wasn’t all the way ready,” Williams said. “But I just told Ime, ‘I can give you something. If you need to throw me in for a jump ball or something, I feel like I could give you something.’
“So it was just being cautious, and thankfully we got through that round, but we’ve got to handle business now.”
Williams’ energetic play on both ends was a big reason why the Celtics opened up a first-half lead Tuesday night, so they’ll need him to be at full strength going forward, especially if Al Horford (health and safety protocols) can’t suit up for Game 2 in Miami on Thursday night.
