It’s not always easy to be green.
Up and down the roster, the Celtics are loaded with guys who honestly could do more on other teams. There are clearly two mainstays of the franchise, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown – we could argue 1A vs. 1B another time, but All-NBAers could top another team on their own. Marcus Smart, Derek White and Malcolm Brogdon are all entry-level point guards, but only one person can start with the other playing ball and getting the odd man off the bench. On any given night, someone is going to have to take a back seat.
Then there are the roles. Al Horford represents the perfect version of the Celtics, a free-range teammate whose skill set doesn’t overlap or overlap with the team’s best players. Instead, they are often defense-minded fellows, unsung heroes of the dirty work. put on. They stand in the corners to expel. They place shots without any expectations of getting the ball to pop or roll. Their numbers can fluctuate between being the second highest scorer of the night and disappearing for weeks in the box.
There are also Williams, Williams, Grant and Robert. The front court law firm accounted for the back end of Boston’s playoff cycle, averaging 17.7 and 20.9 minutes per game respectively with mixed results to be expected. When you’re the proverbial littermate, you eat last. This can mean less playing time. Less chance can mean fewer shots, and unfortunately, fewer shots can mean more value for those shots, at least when it comes to analysis and value determination.
The Time Lord is an extra player, kind of a roof raiser that not only scales the margins, but raises the bar for the entire team. The Celtics were blunt about Rob’s impact, especially in the second round against 76ers When he was eventually reinserted by head coach Joe Mazzola in Games 6 and 7. In the 35 regular season games, he had the team’s best defensive rating on the field at 105.0 and the highest net rating at 11.4.
Grant Williams is heading into restricted free agency with apparently less leverage as he did last summer when he was eligible for an extension. He reportedly turned down a 4-year, $50 million deal after averaging 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Instead, he bet on himself and averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds. It wasn’t exactly the jump he and the fans expected.
What makes Grant Williams’ extension negotiations interesting this summer (and last summer for Robert Williams) may be the unspoken expectation that this isn’t just a contract to secure a reasonable number of role players in the near future; With the restrictive nature of the new collective bargaining agreement and Horford’s eventual retirement (he can’t play forever, right?), President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is looking for role players now and major shareholders later.
Last year’s $48 million investment in Robert Williams is a perfect example of a team-friendly deal that 1) locks in a rotational player at an affordable price and 2) gives them room to grow into a bigger role. It will be curious to see if the Celtics feel the same way about Grant Williams on July 1. After a hand injury hampered the 24-year-old in March, will his disappointing 4th season depress him enough for him to accept a two-year deal to stay in Boston or will the front office still see him as the back in the 4th down the road? The length of last summer’s show suggests the latter.
In addition to numbers, there is also the intangible element that players bring to the table. We see him in the finals now. If Denver can finish the series and win its first championship in franchise history, the lion’s share of the credit goes to Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. But where would the Nuggets be without Christian Brown 7-of-8 in Game 3 or Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown clinching Game 4 with Jokic in foul trouble?
Obviously, mastery of the fringe arts is a prerequisite. There are definitely mental and readiness factors. Then there’s the player adding to their locker room chemistry, that spice that can disrupt the atmosphere (read: Brooks, Dillon) or, like their play on the floor, amp up what’s already there.
All the players and coaches talked about the joy that Robert Williams brings to the game. Perhaps every play he performs is peppered with punctuation. Perhaps it’s his great demeanor off the field and how it contrasts with his boisterous play. And for Grant, he’s definitely had his competition this season. A tete-a-tete match with Donovan Mitchell ended in the same way as another match with Jimmy Butler in the playoffs. But even under these public embarrassments, he displayed an aggressiveness and savagery that were previously lacking on this list. He still complains to the referees a lot and there are times when he tries to do too much, but for the most part, he’s evolved into this nice guy enforcer, Batman with a smile.
As the Celtics head into another off-season of potential changes, there is a tendency to tinker around the edges rather than the core, but on the edges Boston may already be complete.