CHARLOTTE — Jaylen Brown known as the hit intentional, for certain. Derrick White was stunned by it, saying the complete Celtics staff was, too. Jayson Tatum didn’t communicate post-game after receiving the blow after scoring 32 factors in 36 minutes on Friday. He jumped to his ft, exited the rising scrum and walked to the free throw line undeterred.
But Grant Williams, who spoke a number of occasions concerning the flagrant-2 foul he dedicated on Tatum within the fourth quarter after, referred to the play as an accident whereas he was making an attempt to make a play on the ball. He known as Tatum one in all his finest buddies, defined Brown’s agitated response as him merely defending his teammate and smiled predicting that they’d all be cool. Talking to NBC Sports activities Boston whereas exiting the world, although, he not less than half-joked about former teammates now not becoming a member of him for a deliberate dinner at his home.
“We talked final evening, simply because I used to be going to ask them over to my home,” Williams mentioned at shootaround on Friday. “However I informed them I had a date evening with my lady. Let’s simply say that trumps them, however … I speak to J.T. after the sport and stuff like that. I attempt to not hassle them earlier than these video games, the identical method I don’t suppose they attempt to hassle me. After we play, we’ll speak so much. We would hang around tonight, simply because we have now a back-to-back, it’s a novel scenario. They don’t keep the evening on Saturday, so after tonight’s sport, possibly, after which Saturday, we’ll simply dap up and go our separate methods.”
The play put the Celtics in a troublesome place, needing to again up their teammate towards a former one who grew to become an equally vital and annoying voice from 2019-2023. Tatum and Williams appeared shut regardless of Tatum rolling his eyes at Williams’ self-proclaimed Batman nickname. Brown notably deemed his head-butting with Jimmy Butler through the 2023 East Convention Finals pointless. Like Ime Udoka did earlier than him, Brown careworn that Williams is usually a invaluable contributor to a staff when he’s locked into his slim but important position.
Eager to increase past that marked the start of the tip of his time with Boston the earlier summer time. Williams and the Celtics, whereas motivated to re-sign Williams, couldn’t comply with a deal earlier than the rookie scale deadline, Boston reportedly providing a four-year contract value round $50 million. After an uneven season the place he tried too typically to create off the dribble and garnered a number of DNP-CDs from Joe Mazzulla throughout his first 12 months, Williams departed the Celtics for Dallas in a sign-and-trade value $54 million. The Mavericks traded him to the Hornets halfway by means of his first 12 months there, and ultimately reached the Finals towards his former Boston staff.
“I feel it’s a part of life,” Williams informed CLNS Media/CelticsBlog late final season. “You undergo issues and issues occur for a motive. Going again and what I may or couldn’t management, you’ll be able to’t function that method. It’s a must to look towards the longer term and look to how one can both stop issues from taking place the way in which they occurred once more, or come ready and even higher the following time.”
Williams discovered a house in his native Charlotte, enjoying middle typically and taking pictures 37.3% from three below Steve Clifford earlier than Charles Lee grew to become head coach in June. Williams led a visit to Recreation 5 of the NBA Finals with Brandon Miller and Mark Williams, the place he popped into the post-game locker room celebration. Throughout and after the sequence, he’s expressed happiness for his former teammates reaching the large stage, and Boston profitable, regardless of his departure being a part of their tales.
Now, he’s taking pictures 45.8% from deep to start this season and drained a game-winning three on Opening Evening towards Houston. His voice and strategy may resonate extra on a youthful Charlotte staff, although scenes of him on the ground complaining to officers — a standard fault when he performed in Boston — shouting at teammates and his exhausting foul distinction towards his persona off the ground. He provides reporters extra time than possibly every other participant within the league, dedicates as many hours to staff group efforts as anybody and is likely one of the WNBA’s most vocal supporters, amongst his different admirable traits. His friends voted him as a NBPA vp.
One thing appeared to shift through the depth of the sport, to the purpose the place he didn’t totally notice what he did improper on Friday. White famous he’s too huge to be committing exhausting fouls. And in that second, whether or not intentional or not, Williams discovered himself in a well-recognized territory: in bother for doing an excessive amount of.
“One thing that we’ll study and develop from,” Lee mentioned. “As a result of we’d like these guys on the court docket. I don’t need these guys to place themselves in positions the place they’re gonna harm themselves and their teammates … I feel a few of that keenness he performs with has helped us in loads of moments this 12 months…as we put together and follow and he brings a fantastic vitality and a bounce and a juice…as a result of he has a lot ardour and he’s fearless…he takes on loads of totally different matchups. So I don’t need him to lose that. I simply need him to harness it in a method that we are able to hold him on the court docket.”
