The Boston Celtics have seen a rapid rise in production from young forward Grant Williams, particularly in these playoffs. He infamously was the Game 7 hero for the Celtics against the Milwaukee Bucks, nailing seven shots from beyond the arc. That tied Stephen Curry among others for the most in NBA playoff Game 7 history.
But he has really made his mark for the Celtics defensively. In the first round of the playoffs, he completely shut down Kevin Durant, along with Jayson Tatum of course. He did an excellent job slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo, making him an inefficient scorer. That's hard to do.
I guess that should come as no surprise considering the players he emulated. The Celtics forward recently sat down with Sports Illustrated and talked about just that.
“As a young kid I would have said Charles Barkley. But now that I'm more wise and knowledgeable, I've always been big on Boris Diaw, Draymond Green. Like, those are the guys that I, back in the day, really admired. Because those are the guys I find are most valuable to a team. There is always going to be 25-30 point scorers. There will be generational talents. But the guys that really make it that way, Robert Horry. The guys that every team wants.”
The Celtics' Grant Williams certainly has a point. For years now, people have talked about the importance Draymond Green to the Warriors success. Yes, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have been the offensive threats but Green is the glue. If that is what Williams aspires to be, that's a role the Celtics would be happy for him to fill.