Robert Williams III has been a defensive stalwart for the Celtics this season. A crazy stat reveals that opposing players shoot 6.4% lower when guarded by the 24-year-old.
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The Celtics have been on a tear. They have come back to life since February and are now sitting pretty in the fifth seed. They have a record of 41-28 as of this moment.
Their winning record can largely be attributed to an uptick in form. Since February, the Celtics have gone 14-3. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s hot scoring streak has been a major source of the wins.
Their winningness cannot just be accredited to the scoring. This season the Boston Celtics have the best overall and FG% Defense in the NBA.
Players are shooting 6.4% worse than their normal FG% when guarded by Robert Williams.
That negative difference is the biggest by any defender with 500+ shots defended this season.
DPOY? pic.twitter.com/533kRE6oSf
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 8, 2022
A defense built on the foundations set by Robert Williams III
A big part of this highly efficient and ruthless defense is Robert Williams III. The fourth-year player has come alive in 2022 and has been recording stellar numbers across the board.
One startling statistic that jumps out is: players are shooting 6.4% lesser than their normal field goal percentage when guarded by Robert Williams III. The negative differential in shooting is the biggest for any defender guarding more than 500+ shots.
Among the many contenders for DPOY, which include Finals MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo and 2-time DPOY Rudy Gobert, Robert Williams III’s name has entered the foray.
His Celtics teammates have been advocating for his position in the DPOY race, while he has been quietly going about his business.
The power forward/ center recently recorded one of the most dazzling stat lines. He posted an astonishing triple-double while shooting 100% from the field and recording 5 blocks. In doing so, he became the first player since 1983 to do so.
