After an underwhelming start to the 2021-22 NBA season, the Boston Celtics stabilized themselves in the second half of the season. The Celtics won game after game and booked themselves a spot in the playoffs.
Additionally, they breezed past the Brooklyn Nets in Round 1, winning the series 4-0. Now, they have locked horns with the reigning champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. This Eastern Conference Semifinals series is certainly a must-watch for all NBA fans.
So far each team has won one game and surprisingly both claimed victory in blowout fashion. Following an underwhelming performance in the first game, the Celtics bounced back this time around.
Although their superstars deserve a lot of credit for the victory, Grant Williams certainly deserves applause as well. The 23-year-old forward is serving as a source of energy for the Celtics on the court.
The forward was mic’d up during the Game 2 warmup and gave fans a hilarious exchange with Jayson Tatum. In the video, he talked about beating Tatum in 1-on-1 and also pushing him to his left since it’s the weaker side. Tatum simply replied by saying, “You’re not tall enough.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La6vfCMo-OA
It certainly seems like Williams is a vocal player and has the potential to maybe become a locker room leader for the Celtics one day. Head coach Ime Udoka realizes that and talked about it in a recent interview.
“For good or bad, yes, he has a voice. He’s very talkative, very opinionated. But on the floor it’s what we need, we need the communication. Very vocal and we encourage that. Off the court he doesn’t stop either, so we take it with a grain of salt and we’ll take it if he’s that vocal on the court.”
Udoka continued to talk about Williams’ most unorthodox opinion, “That he should get plays ran for him like Jayson and Jaylen do,” Udoka answered. “I called one play for him this year against Oklahoma City when (Shai) Gilgeous-Alexander was on him. He got a post-up and Gil just blocked him at the rim and that was pretty much his one attempt.”
Ime Udoka had some fun talking about @Grant2Will with @ZoandBertrand 🤣 pic.twitter.com/YOLRmuLuFp
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 5, 2022
It is good to have vocal players on the court. In a way, it ties up all the players with each other and they will be called out about their mistakes rather than keeping it to themselves.
Williams can become a great player someday, and he showed shades of that in Game 2 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He scored a career-high 21 points and also defended Giannis Antetokounmpo really well.
