Celtics center Robert Williams, who has been sidelined since Dec. 6 due to a hip injury, has been cleared to return to action, head coach Brad Stevens confirmed Friday (Twitter link via Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe).
Williams, a first-round pick in 2018, was playing a part-time role for Boston earlier in the season before he went down with the hip ailment, averaging 3.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 19 games (14.2 MPG).
The 22-year-old will play limited minutes for now, as Washburn notes, but he’ll give the C’s another option up front to go along with centers Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter. Boston’s next game is on Saturday night vs. Houston, which may not be an ideal spot for a big man like Williams to see much playing time, but it sounds like he should be active for that contest.
Meanwhile, point guard Kemba Walker is expected to miss Saturday’s game against the Rockets as he continues to deal with a knee injury, Stevens said today (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston). It will be the fifth straight game Walker has missed since the All-Star break.
However, the All-Star guard will likely ramp up his work over the weekend with an eye toward returning next week, Stevens added. It sounds as if a return on Tuesday vs. Brooklyn or on Wednesday in Cleveland remains in play for Walker.
