After being the lineup for a couple of weeks, the Boston Celtics may elect to hold Robert Williams out of tomorrow night’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder as Williams continues to make his way back from his offseason left knee surgery.
#NEBHInjuryReport for tomorrow vs. Oklahoma City:
Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) – OUT
Robert Williams (left knee injury management) – QUESTIONABLE— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 2, 2023
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I do cringe a little bit every time Rob Williams hits the ground. I hold my breath until he gets up and starts running with a normal gait. Thankfully, Williams hasn’t shown any indications that he’s had any trouble with his surgically repaired left knee since returning last month.
His presence, even off the bench, has elevated the defense significantly after the team was off to a slow start on that end. It’s obvious that this team is better in pretty much every way with Williams in the lineup, but of course, the goal is to have the complete for the playoffs, not in January. If Williams needs to take a night off here and there just to make sure the knee isn’t over-taxed, that’s fine by me.
The key here is that he hasn’t even been ruled out. He’s questionable, and it’s not indicated that it’s a new injury. It just looks like good ol’ fashioned load management. Rob William hasn’t returned to the starting lineup yet, so his potential absence against a smaller Oklahoma City Thunder team shouldn’t be too disruptive as the Celtics seek to get back to winning ways following last night’s loss to the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
The Celtics are in OKC tomorrow night to take on the Thunder at 8:00 p.m. ET.
