Robert Williams finally returned to action for the Boston Celtics on Friday night. This was his first game of the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee during the offseason. Time Lord looked good in his season debut and the home crowd could not have been more pleased to see their starting center back on the floor.
Williams admitted after the game that he was feeling nervous about making his debut. It's not as if he's a rookie playing in from of the TD Garden crowd for the first time, but the fact that there has been so much buzz surrounding his return had Williams feeling a bit on edge:
“There was a lot of nerves before the beginning of the game,” Williams said, via Cameron Tabatabaie of Celtics Wire. “It was just about getting a sense of confidence.”
Robert Williams III checks into the game for the first time this season 👏
It is his first game since June 16, 2022 (Game 6 of the NBA Finals)pic.twitter.com/9BMDXivrcf
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 17, 2022
As soon as he checked in in the first quarter of Friday's game against the Orlando Magic, the crowd got on their feet to give Williams a rousing ovation. This made the 25-year-old even jumpier:
“‘Don’t mess up,'” Williams said he told himself. “‘Just calm down a little bit, find a way to help your teammates.'”
It didn't long before Williams made his impact on the game, though. Not long after checking in, Time Lord found himself on the receiving end of a Marcus Smart alley-oop pass:
Welcome back, Robert Williams 💥pic.twitter.com/eL63sSFvd9
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 17, 2022
“It was that first dunk, I just need to catch a lob and dunk to be honest. Just to add a sense of confidence,” he said.
Williams finished the game with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, five rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block in 18 minutes of action. Unfortunately, the Celtics lost, 117-109, which pretty much spoiled Robert Williams' debut.
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