Celtics give injury update on Marcus Smart, Robert Williams before Game 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics have the NBA's best defense, but much of that success stems from having point guard Marcus Smart and center Robert Williams healthy enough to not only be in the lineup, but also play effectively.
Each player was able to suit up for Boston's Game 7 win over the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Smart scored 24 points and played 41 minutes. Williams was mostly a non-factor in his 15 minutes of action.
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Celtics head coach Ime Udoka told reporters at NBA Finals Media Day on Wednesday that both Smart and Williams would be listed as questionable for Thursday night's Game 1 versus the Golden State Warriors. The team later removed Smart from the injury report, but Williams remains questionable.
"Marcus is different than Rob," Udoka said earlier. "It's a sprained ankle. Once the swelling goes down and the pain goes down, that obviously will improve his situation. Rob is a little different coming off the surgery, and the amount of games we played in that 17-day span, every other day, and the toll it took, just naturally, besides the bone bruise he took (against the Bucks).
"He'll be listed day to day the rest of the way and see how he reacts on it. We've kept his minutes lower in the last few games against Miami. His availability has been up and down based on the game. He's a true day to day situation, where Marcus is specifically a rolled ankle that will get better as time goes."
Williams admitted his decreased workload benefited him during the conference finals.
"I feel like the reduced minutes helped, obviously, with the injury I had and not being able to take time off with it being such an important part of the season," Williams said. The minutes reduction definitely helped. The couple days in between these series help me, too."
Williams added that the pain is "manageable".
Injuries could play a pivotal role in this series, especially for the Celtics because Smart and Williams are so critical to their success. Luckily for the Celtics, both Smart and Williams played the last three games of the Heat series and had several days off before Game 1 of the Finals to rest and recover.
