How Celtics Involved Robert Williams in First Start vs Bulls

BOSTON — Robert Williams III down-screened for Al Horford in the corner three possessions into their first start together this season as Jaylen Brown drove downhill and kicked to Horford. Williams III cut into the post behind Nikola Vucevic while Horford drove and tossed a lob that Williams III threw down with one hand.

It marked Horford’s first assist of the season to Williams III in Rob’s 10th game. One example of how Williams III wasn’t involved enough alongside key personnel early in his return. That changed Monday.

“I think coach is doing a good job when (Rob’s) out there to make sure that our play calls kind of suit him a little bit,” Horford told CLNS Media. “Honestly, he can be in any position out there, and he knows what he needs to do. If he’s up top, he’s probably doing more of a facilitator role, passing the ball, setting screens. If he’s in the corners, he’ll do something else. It’s just good to have him out there. He’s a weapon that I feel like we’ll continue to use and develop.”

Joe Mazzulla answered Jayson Tatum and Brown’s calls in recent days to start and play Williams III alongside them more, replacing Marcus Smart with Williams III as the guard sat with a knee contusion.

The Celtics beat the Bulls, 107-99, in part due to Williams III’s strong start, but an uneven second half landed him on the bench in crunch time after 22 minutes — in line with how many he played as a reserve. Mazzulla mentioned conditioning would continue to determine the big man’s playing time, rather than any concrete restriction.

Williams III stormed through the opening minutes similarly to how he played on Saturday in his best game this season. He roamed away from Ayo Dosunmu and guarded the lane to prevent driving lanes for Zach LaVine and Vucevic rolls.

On offense, he screened away from the ball to free Tatum for an elbow jumper. He tried unsuccessfully to free Brown for a back cut around his off-ball screen, Tatum finding Brown anyway to beat Dosunmu off the dribble for two as Rob rolled.

“Defensively, just reading the defense. He has the talent and ability to be in help, to guard the ball, to protect, to execute different coverages, so he’s making a commitment to doing that,” Mazzulla told CLNS. “On the offensive end, screening and forcing two-on-ones and making the right play.”

Williams III could improve his screening ability to connect more and facilitate rather than slip to roll habitually. The Celtics’ offense demands it to space to create those advantages, ones Mazzulla believed Boston improved at reading as the game progressed. He reminded everyone that Williams III doesn’t need to touch the ball to create an opening somewhere on the floor.

Dosunmu beat Brown cutting downhill and Williams III rotated away from Patrick Williams to pulverize Dosunmu’s layup attempt. Two plays later, Horford screened Vucevic again after Williams III set an initial screen on the big man for Tatum, opening up Rob so much he could’ve waited several seconds to shoot.

Mazzulla pushed Williams III for almost nine minutes in the first quarter with three minute layoff past the midway point in the frame. Combining his second rotation with Grant Williams allowed the Celtics to stagger Horford’s minutes and combine Williams III’s rim gravity with Grant’s pull beyond the arc to free him for two points driving inside. Teammates empowered Rob to make quick decisions on the ball, too.

“Rob’s phenomenal, man,” Grant told CLNS. “He’s such a special part of this team, he does so many tremendous things that not many people in the league can even do. He does a phenomenal job of not only protecting us on the defensive end, but he’s doing a great job of pressuring them on the offensive end, being a lob threat.”

Chicago adjusted though, and Rob’s impacted slowly waned. DeMar DeRozan proved difficult for Rob’s drop to stop between the first and second quarters, and the Bulls pulled within 31-29 after trailing by nine points early.

Williams III exited for most of the second quarter, returning to roll into open space Tatum missed him in, failing to pick up a Vucevic cut in transition and helping free Derrick White for a last-second layup.Tatum tried rolling another time and spacing issues led him into traffic and a miss, ones the double-big unit will need to work through along with crunch time execution like in San Antonio.

A team switching communication cost two points to Vucevic to begin the third. Rob, allowed to switch more freely during the road trip, played more drop coverage in Monday’s win. The Celtics allowed 94.0 points per 100 possessions while Williams III played. He saved Brown from points allowed following his turnover with a chase down block on Patrick Williams.

The Celtics entered jump shot mode offensively in the second half, missing chances to get Williams III post touches. Another timing issue followed on an off-ball play to Brown, and Williams III exited after three minutes.

He returned in the fourth, briefly, keeping the ball alive twice before a fourth-chance Malcolm Brogdon bucket. He found Grant for a three in transition, but threw away a pass plays later to LaVine and Chicago counteracted his drop with more good ball movement. Mazzulla pivoted to Grant, who scored 20 points with eight rebounds in a closing effort alongside Horford, showing that if Rob starts, he may not finish games. A mix is likely in store.

Williams III shot 3-for-4 with six points and seven rebounds, blocking two shots while the Bulls outscored the Celtics by five through his minutes. Still, Chicago shot 41.2% when guarded by Williams III on 17 attempts. He took away access to the basket, and shared more time on the floor with Brown and Tatum, 20 and 16 minutes, respectively, to work through his reclamation. As they asked for in recent days.

“Like J.T. and J.B. said in previous days, we need to continue to include him, and continue to work him back into the offense,” Grant told CLNS. “Get familiar with him, understand there may be opportunities to not only throw lobs, but also drop it off to him to allow him to make a play. He’s a phenomenal passer, that’s one of the best things he does in the game. So, get him touches on the ball and allow us to move off-ball and create better actions, so that way we can not only get wide open looks, but also easy dunks and layups.”