Robert Williams is making his impact felt during the NBA Finals, as the hyper-athletic big man has been pushing through a knee injury to serve as a lynchpin to the Boston Celtics‘ defense. Williams is averaging seven points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in only 25.2 minutes a night against the Golden State Warriors, and when he’s able to perform at his best, scoring on the Celtics becomes much tougher.
Still, that knee injury has left Williams compromised. The man affectionately known has Timelord tore his meniscus earlier this season and came back rather quickly from surgery. A new piece by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports went through what Williams has done in an effort to take the floor, which has included a whole lot of treatment and, at times, having his knee drained.
“The medical staff has ensured him that he is not at further risk of worsening the repaired knee,” Haynes wrote. “It’s all a matter of pain tolerance.”
One former Celtic saw this report and couldn’t help but remember his own experience with Boston’s medical staff. Isaiah Thomas famously played through a hip injury during the 2017 postseason, which led to him getting shut down in the middle of the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Upon seeing this report, Thomas said the following:
Heard that before lol https://t.co/oxOEWdvRyT
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) June 16, 2022
The hip injury nearly torpedoed Thomas’ trade from Boston to Cleveland that offseason, but it ultimately went through. Eventually, Thomas needed to undergo surgery on his hip.