“Why put ‘?’ After ‘DPOY’ for Robert Williams III”: NBA Twitter reacts to yet another robust defensive display from the Celtics star

Jeet Pukhrambam | 16/03/2022
"Why put '?' After 'DPOY' for Robert Williams": NBA Twitter reacts to yet another robust defensive display from the Celtics star

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. 

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.

Also read: “Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III should be DPOY!!”: Grant Williams emphatically lobbies for his Celtics teammates Marcus to win DPOY over Giannis and company

 

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.

 

Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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