Boston Celtics center Robert Williams has suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee and will miss at least several weeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
An MRI revealed the tear and further evaluation today will provide a more concrete timetable for a possible return.
Williams suffered the injury in the second half of the team’s win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday March 27.
He told head coach Ime Udoka that he couldn’t remember it happening on a specific play, but came out of the game, had some pain, went back to get checked out and was in quite a bit of pain.
Meniscus injuries can vary in amount of time missed, as the injury can be treated surgically and non-surgically, meaning that a player could be sidelined weeks, while others may miss months.
Williams was averaging 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game (all career-highs) in 61 games this season and has been a key cog on the Celtics’ top-ranked defense.
The 24-year-old is ranked No. 1 among 169 players in the league who have defended 500-plus shots as the closest defender, according to Second Spectrum tracking. Only Williams has held opponents under 40% shooting.
The Celtics, who have been one of the NBA’s top teams of late, winning 24 out of their last 28 games since Jan. 23, currently hold the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.
They will now have to use a committee approach to replace Williams and players they will lean more on in the frontcourt include Al Horford, Daniel Theis and Grant Williams.
The Celtics also just signed forward Juwan Morgan to a 10-day contract. He was in training camp with the team before the season and has played 20 games for the Celtics’ G League affiliate Maine Celtics, averaging 12.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Once his contract expires before the end of the season, the Celtics could then choose to sign another big man.
