The Boston Celtics return home on Saturday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals with the Miami Heat, they will have to do so without their defensive stud of a starting center.
Robert Williams III, who has been dealing with a knee issue since late March, will miss Game 3 with the same issue. Without him, Boston has to hope that guys like Daniel Theis and others can step up on the defensive end.
The Celtics substituted Williams III with Grant Williams in Game 2 and their small-ball lineup had a ton of success against the Heat. That is something that coach Ime Udoka and his staff will probably look into heading into this matchup on Saturday.
Boston Celtics C Robert Williams (left knee) is expected to be out for Game 3 vs. Miami tonight, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 21, 2022
The potential issue without Williams III is that Heat big man Bam Adebayo does feast on smaller lineups. He did the same things in their semifinals matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Celtics will have to contend with that.
Tipoff from TD Garden is set for 8:30 p.m. EDT on ABC.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
