Don’t miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Bucks, which tips off Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Mike & Tommy have the call of the game at 7:30 p.m. You can also stream the game through the MyTeams App.
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Few players have become fan-favorites as quickly as Grant Williams has in his first week of NBA action. Standing 6'6, Williams has already earned himself regular rotation minutes with some extremely productive minutes at the center position against the Raptors and Knicks this weekend.
He's only averaging 3.7 points, three rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, but his two-way impact has resonated with NBA Math's popular TPA metric. After his first three games, Williams has been one of the most valuable rookies in the NBA to start the season.
NBA Math's graph plots players based on the points they add on the offensive end and the points they save on defense. The top right quadrant can be considered as "good offense-good defense," the bottom right is "good offense-bad-defense," the top left is "bad offense-good defense" and the bottom left is "bad offense-bad defense."
Williams is joined by fourth overall pick DeAndre Hunter and 34th overall pick Bruno Fernando of the Atlanta Hawks, while you can also find Carsen Edwards in the "good offense-bad defense" section of the graph.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics' 2019 draft class performed exceptionally well during NBA Summer League and it appears that some of that momentum has continued into the regular season. It's difficult to expect a lot out of rookies, but this batch of youngsters has played with poise and toughness in every stage of their first season.
If Williams can continue to stifle centers with his positioning and strength, Boston's issues in the frontcourt will look less and less troublesome.
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