Former Tennessee legend and three-year NBA player Grant Williams is making a name for himself in the 2022 NBA playoffs. Since joining the league in 2019, Williams has been improving his game with the Boston Celtics and has established himself as one of the more underrated players in the league.
Williams has really shown himself to be a defensive force in the Celtics’ first two rounds of the playoffs. In Boston’s first series, Williams routinely gave Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant a tough night on the court with his presence on the defensive end. In four playoff games against Boston, Durant only averaged 26.3 points per game. While that would still be an unbelievable statistic for most players in the NBA, it is Durant’s second-lowest playoff production output in his career. In addition, Williams and the Celtics held Durant to a -7.8 plus/minus in the series.
On a few different occasions in the last few weeks, the NBA has put a microphone on the former Tennessee superstar for the games. And knowing how big of a personality Grant Williams has, that seems like a good bet if the NBA is looking for high-quality content. Here’s a look at two of the “Mic’d Up” sessions for Celtics forward Grant Williams.
🗣 @Grant2Will is a defensive leader!
GAME 3 tips at 3:30pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/SpZilOVmsz
— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2022
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In the most recent video that the NBA posted, Williams can be seen giving his teammates crystal clear defensive perspectives in the huddle. Remind anyone of Williams’ former college coach? Sure do wonder where he got that from.
Just a few days prior to that video, the NBA also dropped a clip of Williams and his Boston teammate, Jayson Tatum, as the two friends competed before the game even began.
Before Game 2… @Grant2Will & @jaytatum0 went 1v1 during warmups! pic.twitter.com/8UB8p7vlXQ
— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2022
In his third NBA season with the Celtics, Williams has averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in his 77 games played. Additionally, Williams has also found 21 starts this season, which is the most of his career by a long shot (previous best was nine games in 2021).
Boston and Milwaukee will face off tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET in the fourth game of this Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup. While Williams and the Celtics are down 2-1, they will be looking to even things up tonight in the Badger State.
Game five between the Bucks and the Celtics will take place on Wednesday in Boston. If a sixth game is needed, it will take place this Friday the 13th in Milwaukee.
