https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-the-lengths-robert-williams-iii-has-gone-to-play-in-2022-nba-playoffs-including-having-knee-drained-215219133.html

Chris Haynes
Wed, June 15, 2022 at 5:52 PM·
4 min read

BOSTON — Robert Williams III has his good days and his bad days.

The Boston Celtics big man underwent surgery on March 30 after suffering
a torn meniscus in his left knee. He returned to action for Game 3 of
the opening-round series against the Brooklyn Nets in just under a month.

Ever since then, he has been listed as questionable leading up to each
game he’s participated in the 2022 NBA playoffs.

His availability status has not been a protective strategy to throw off
the opposition. Team staffers are legitimately unsure if he will be a go
for gamedays.

Williams III is fighting valiantly through immense pain.

“I honestly take it day-by-day,” Williams III told Yahoo Sports. “I can
be feeling good right now, and then the next couple of hours it’s pretty
sore. I try to take it day-by-day as much as I can.”

The 24-year-old is coming off a breakout season. He anchored the top
defense in the league with 2.2 blocks per game, placing him fourth in
the league, and he was awarded All-Defensive Second Team.

Now that his team is one of the last two standing and the Golden State
Warriors up 3-2 in the series, Williams III is not himself. He hasn’t
been since returning. His postseason minutes average is at 22.3, seven
minutes below his regular-season average.

You can see how much he’s laboring as he runs up and down the court. At
times he’ll agitate that left knee after receiving a bump or when he
sharply changes direction, and he’ll bend down for a minute in hopes of
the pain subsiding enough to continue on.

He’s made it this far, but he can only go so far. That’s the frustrating
part for the defensive star.

“It gets to me a lot,” Williams III told Yahoo Sports. “It’s hard to
deal with. When I’m out there, the adrenaline and energy takes over so I
don’t really think about it during games, but it for sure gets to me a lot.”

It’s a strenuous process in between games to get him to a comfort level
where the pain is tolerable for game days. He calls the system in place
“boring” and “repetitive.”

“Icing, deep tissue massages, treatment, wait three or four hours and
then start the process all over again until [it’s time to sleep],”
Williams III told Yahoo Sports. “Usually that same routine. Maybe a
little BFR [blood flow restriction training] here and there, but usually
that same ritual.”

But that’s not the extent of the lengths Williams III has gone to be in
uniform in the playoffs.

Williams had his knee drained repeatedly during the Eastern Conference
finals against the Miami Heat, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

“I was really having my knee drained a lot last series,” Williams III
confirmed to Yahoo Sports. “I stopped draining it because there was no
point, in my opinion. My knee kept filling back up with fluid. So, I’ve
kind of learned how to manage it to be able to play.”

The medical staff has ensured him that he is not at further risk of
worsening the repaired knee. It’s all a matter of pain tolerance.

“We’re going to take what he can give us,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka told
Yahoo Sports. “If he can go, we’ll monitor him accordingly. If he can’t
go, we understand. Rob’s a fighter. That’s why we love him.”

Williams III has had his moments in the Finals when he’s flying all over
the place blocking shots, and then there are times he’s hobbling around.

Some question if it’s even worth it to put his body through so much
agony, and to that, he has a retort.

“S***, we’re trying to win,” Williams III told Yahoo Sports. “It’s
crazy. I’m living my dream right now. Obviously, it would be way better
if we win, but my whole thing is accountability for my team. Letting
them know I’m here through whatever, and hopefully, the message is
relayed to everyone else.”