The Two-Way Talent Boston Didn't Know They Had Until Now

Grant Williams' growth as a scorer in this series has been good. But the defense he has played on both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, has been very Marcus Smart-like in terms of its impact on winning.

Sam Mitchell’s first thoughts when he laid eyes on Grant Williams nearly a decade ago, are consistent with what most people saw.

He’s a big, strong, burly kid who is probably going to just keep growing into a pretty good-sized football player.

Mitchell, a former NBA coach of the Year, admits he not only saw Williams having a life of gridiron glory, but he encouraged it.

“To show you how smart we were, we tried to get him to play football,” said Mitchell, currently an NBA analyst for NBA TV. “Because of that body. But he was just…he just got better and better every year coming to camp.”

And that ability to steadily grow and improve, is still very much part of the Williams blueprint for success.

Williams’ play, both as a starter and coming off the bench, has been among the keys to Boston being in position to sweep the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

The numbers Williams has posted in this series - 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 40 percent on 3s - in 28.7 minutes per game are solid

But his impact has also been critical defensively as one of several Celtics taking turns at limiting Kevin Durant.

In the three games thus far, Williams has limited Durant who has shot just 33.3 percent while Williams has defended.

Not only has Durant struggled to make shots when Williams has been the primary defender, but he’s had more turnovers (4) than made baskets (3) with Grant defending him.

And when Williams has had to defend Brooklyn’s other high-powered scorer, ex-Celtic Kyrie Irving, Williams has made his life difficult as well.

In the three games thus far, Irving is shooting just 2-for-9 when Williams is the primary defender.

It is that kind of defensive versatility that has allowed Boston to take a commanding series lead, with Williams’ play being part of the blue print for Boston’s success.

It’s kind of my role, throughout my career,” Williams said. “It’s something I’ve been getting used to the past three years, two years. Guarding a guy like KD to Kyrie to (Sixers center) Joel Embiid to (Sixers guard) Tyrese Maxey, it’s just a matter of preparation and understanding there’s a role to be done and a job to be had. For me, it’s a matter of staying locked in.”

Contributing as a defender was initially believed to be the primary extent as to what the Celtics would get out of Williams.

But to his credit, he has shaken off a horrendous start to his career shooting the ball (he missed 25 consecutive 3-pointers at one point).

Not only has he shot the ball better, but he’s among the better 3-point shooters this season in the league.

Williams, who appeared in 77 games this season, shot 41 percent during the regular season. Only Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton (41.6 percent) has a higher 3-point shooting percentage than Williams among players who have appeared in as many regular season games as he did.

“It’s a matter of repetition,” said Williams who had a playoff career-high 17 points while making all his field-goal attempts (4), 3-pointers (3) and free throws (6) in Boston’s 114-107 Game 2 win.

“For me, 3-point shooting has never been my game, over my life It is just a matter of repetition, getting those shots up and getting the looks you see in the game. That’s what I work on now, whatever I think the team will need…and try to continue to improve for the next season for when they may need you to expand your role a little bit.”

Figuring out what his role needs to be in order for the team to be successful, is why Mitchell believes the 23-year-old Williams will have a long and successful career in the NBA.

“He’s a glue guy, ” Mitchell said. “You don’t know he’s on the team, until you look at the stat sheet or the film. Because he’s a coach's dream. You don’t have to run plays for him. He’s intelligent enough to understand what the deal is. He plays his role. He knows he’s a defender, and he has to make open shots. And he’s just that guy that’s going to keep everybody together, the tough little things that don’t get written up in the newspaper and we don’t talk about on the radio. But coaches, they love it. He just gets stuff done.”