3 players who could break into Celtics starting lineup

No. 1 player who could break into Celtics starting five: Robert Williams

The 2022-23 season didn’t treat Robert Williams very well, to be frank. He only managed 35 games (20 starts) after dealing with a torn meniscus. After making the All-Defensive team the season before, he was shelved in the second unit once the playoffs started and he frequently felt like an afterthought in Mazzulla’s game plan.

Now, the Celtics have essentially traded for his replacement. Porzingis is a talented rim protector meant to anchor the defense in Boston. On offense, he’s a gifted 3-point shooter who is far less limited than the paint-bound Williams. One could not be blamed for reading the Celtics’ summer as a statement of complete disregard for the 25-year-old Williams.

That should not be the case, however. Williams is a tier-one athlete who can still impact the game defensively next to other centers. Porzingis doesn’t offer the same defensive flexibility as Horford — the 7-foot-3 Latvian will primarily operate in drop coverage — but Williams is a nimble defender on the perimeter. He can roam off of non-shooters in the corner and still impact the game as a help-side rim protector while Porzingis anchors the paint. Opposing offenses would struggle to find lanes to the rim.

On the other end, Porzingis should spend very little time in the post. He’s a terrible post-up scorer but a dominant 3-point threat. His deep range stretches defenses in completely unique ways. Meanwhile, Williams is a deadly vertical threat with a wide catch radius on lobs around the rim. Giving Boston’s ball-handlers the option to either kick it to Porzingis behind the 3-point line or toss it up to Williams in the dunker’s spot could pay dividends.

Williams was a borderline top-50 talent not that long ago. When healthy, he’s a truly elite defensive force who can change the calculus of opposing game plans with his length and explosiveness. He’s a defensive playmaker and a hyper-efficient rim finisher on offense. There’s a world in which he’s simply too impactful to keep with the second unit, even if it’s not the cleanest fit on paper.