Celtics Hold Fourth Highest NBA Title Odds After Grabbing Eastern Conference One-Seed, Losing Robert Williams

After an electric several months being a Boston Celtics fan, things have slowly started coming back to earth today.

The Celtics are 22-3 in their last 25 games, have not lost back-to-back games since the middle of January, and  – after beating down on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, are the one-seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time this season.

And that’s not the story today.

That’s because unfortunately, Boston lost their starting center Robert Williams to a torn meniscus on Sunday.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Williams ranks first out of 169 players who have defends 500-plus shorts as the closest defender – holding opponents to under 40% shooting. He is averaging 10 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game in his break out season in green.

The Celtics – who are currently fourth on BetOnline.ag’s odds list to win the NBA Finals at +675, will have to go back to the drawing board in order to fill the gap that Williams will leave. Take a look at BOL’s current top ten to win the 2022 title:

Odds to win NBA Finals

Phoenix Suns                         +300

Brooklyn Nets                       +600

Milwaukee Bucks                 +650

Boston Celtics                        +675

Golden State Warriors         +700

Philadelphia 76ers               +1000

Miami Heat                            +1200

Memphis Grizzlies                +1800

Utah Jazz                                +2200

Denver Nuggets                    +3300

The good news is, you can argue Williams isn’t even in the top three for “Most Important Celtics”.  Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart seem to the the true nucleus of this team – and they’ll all have to step up in Williams absence.

We all know the story of Tatum this season, but Smart has truly been incredible. He is currently the favorite to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award according to BetOnline.ag, holding +200 odds, and has played a major role in the Celtics NBA-leading defense.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Marcus Smart                          +200

Bam Adebayo                           +225

Mikal Bridges                          +250

Rudy Gobert                             +375

Giannis Antetokounmpo     +1400

Jaren Jackson Jr.                  +1800

As the regular season dwindles down over the next few weeks, we’ll get a close look at how Boston can handle the loss of Williams.

Here’s to hoping he’s back in time for a dominant Celtics playoff run.

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