BOSTON — As Blake Griffin, Sam Hauser, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White subbed into the game during the third quarter Celtics’ win over the Trail Blazers, Grant Williams sat on Boston’s bench with empty seats to his right only filled by Luke Kornet and J.D. Davison. Injuries to Robert Williams III and Payton Pritchard made the sideline seats less communal, but Williams sat there for three quarters as the players checking in keyed Boston’s second unit rotations.
While Griffin, Hauser, Kornet, the roster’s guards and Mike Muscala just arrived at the trade deadline, the recent minute fluctuation that’s frustrated Williams in recent weeks marked a drastic shift for Williams, who’s averaging a career-high 27.0 minutes per game, 24.4 last year and hadn’t received a did not play – coach’s decision designation since the 2020-21 season before sitting out last week’s win over the Cavaliers. Williams continued to accept the coaching decisions, which swayed in his favor against Philadelphia and New York recently, while Mazzulla pointed toward matchups.
The Athletic reported Williams continues to suffer from a right elbow injury he told CLNS Media about in Milwaukee before the all-star break without wanting to blame it for his struggles. Williams is shooting 35.4% from the field since February began, 35.1% from three and even slipped to 67.9% at the free throw line on 28 attempts. His 39.5% shooting slump extends over the prior 40 games to Dec. 10 and his defensive versatility hasn’t carried the same staying power when the Celtics shift toward a less switch-heavy defensive approach.
“It’ll pass,” Griffin told CLNS Media after Williams only played the final 12 minutes of a win largely decided over Portland. “He’s too important to our team. I think we’re trying out some lineups and you feel for him, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great guy to have in the locker room and great player for us. You just stay on. We’re gonna need him in the playoffs in a big way in every series, so it’s probably hard for him to see that, but I think his teammates all value how good he is.”
Williams isn’t the only player who dealt with inconsistent playing time as the Celtics grow healthier and the playoffs approach. The Celtics played more playoff style rotations in recent games, with seven players handling the brunt of the minutes. Hauser joined Brogdon as primary bench contributors, Griffin played the short roll for 18 minutes and White started again in place of Williams III. Pritchard returned to rarely playing since Marcus Smart’s return, something his long-time friend Griffin helped him manage.
Marcus Smart’s early foul trouble allowed White, scorching from the field at 48.6% in 16 games since February began and defending well, to lead the back court with 35 minutes, empowering White in the way Mazzulla told Sean Grande he wishes he did in the loss to New York.
Smart and White will start while Williams III is out and Brogdon made one of the most important rotation concessions of the season upon arrival by accepting a bench role, and often fewer minutes, in all 56 games he appeared in so far. White said several times in recent weeks he doesn’t care about his playing time, an approach Williams’ teammates urge him to follow in the name of winning. His looming free agency carries personal goals he hoped to accomplish this season, becoming more matchup versatile by attacking closeouts, but arguably the deepest team in the league worked to start this season by sacrificing, and the minute reduction could prove temporary.
“You’ve just gotta play,” Griffin said. “I’ve never been a guy that thought about my next contract. I don’t know how guys do that, but it can, but you can also let it not let it affect you and you can rise to that occasion and Grant’s one of those guys that can do that.”
Mazzulla told Griffin he would play a prominent role in Wednesday’s win while he and White shared an understanding that didn’t require an understanding after Sunday’s loss against the Knicks. Mike Muscala and Griffin started in Cleveland with Al Horford resting, and Williams hit four threes in a row to key the second quarter in a stretch that appeared capable of vaulting him out of his slump. He, instead, finished the night playing 16 minutes and missed a pair of likely game-winning free throws to end regulation before Boston lost in overtime.
Kornet played more than Williams that night, anchoring a drop defense that slowed the Cavaliers for much of the night until Darius Garland hit a pair of key threes late in the game. Hauser played sparsely in the loss and Muscala logged nearly 35 minutes with Tatum out, double his average in nine games since joining the Celtics.
Griffin and Kornet did not play against the Knicks the night before, Williams reaching 44 minutes into double overtime in an eight-man rotation that saw five players approach or pass the 40-minute line. Hauser and Williams played 17 minutes each on Friday against the Nets even while Williams III exited the game after reaching 19.
Griffin knows the Celtics are experimenting and playing big man by committee late in the year. Horford didn’t see a substantial difference between the potential starting lineups, whether Williams III or White, in terms of how the Celtics operate offensively.
The team returned to its rhythm and flow offensively against the Blazers, creating three successful three-pointers in the first half for Hauser by putting the ball in Griffin’s hands and finishing over 36% as a team on 49 attempts. Boston wants to make the right reads, maintain a high three-point volume while tightening up the four factors, transition points, defensive rebounding and other marginal efforts that allow their offensive advantages to turn into wins again.
It’s not completely clear why Williams, a large part of that dynamic early in the year, doesn’t fit into that game plan every night anymore. Whether he returns to form for the playoffs is becoming a significant story given the inconsistent production in his place, and after Mazzulla expressed full faith in Williams after his misses in Cleveland and said it’ll simply take time for him to bounce back, Williams stepped in for the fourth quarter on Wednesday and fired up eight shots in 12 minutes, including seven three-pointers, hitting a pair and receiving acknowledgement from the standing crowd.
“I don’t really think it’s about Grant,” Mazzulla said at practice on Thursday. “I think it’s we’re fully healthy and we have a lot of options and we developed different identities. We play around nine guys and when you play nine guys, you can pick from anybody. So it’s not really about him as much as its about, because we have so much depth, this is who we’re going with.”
“It doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong, it doesn’t mean that you’re not a good player, what it means is we have a lot of options that we can go to, here’s what we’re going to now and we need that continued humility and professional to when it is your time, just be ready to go, which our guys have done the entire season. It’s not about one guy, it’s about our depth and how we maximize it.”
