Boston Celtics center Robert Williams expected to be out tonight vs. Miami Heat

Boston Celtics’ center Robert Williams III is expected to be out tonight vs. the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals due to soreness in his left knee, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The series is currently tied between the Heat and Celtics at 1-1. Tip-off for Saturday night’s Game 3 contest is set for 8:30 PM EST.

He was also ruled out of Game 4 and Game 5 for the Celtics in their previous series against the Milwaukee Bucks, due to soreness in the same left knee.

Williams’ absence from the Celtics lineup tonight is quite significant, both on the offensive and defensive end for the franchise. In Game 1 of the Celtics-Heat series, he poured in 18 points and corralled nine rebounds. In Game 2, the former Texas A&M star stuffed the stat sheet with five points, four rebounds, and three blocks.

This season, Williams has averaged 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game. He’s also already blocked five shots total in the first two games of the Celtics-Heat playoff series. In Williams’ absence tonight, Al Horford is expected to take over at the center position.

He’s always had a knack for shot blocking and in his first college game for Texas A&M–he tallied five blocks. During his highly decorated career for the Aggies, Williams racked up numerous awards–including the 2016-2017 SEC Defensive Player of the Year. That same season, he was also named second team All-SEC by the league’s coaches.

According to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2016 class, Williams was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 9 power forward in America coming out of North Caddo (Oil City, La.). He emerged as a dominant force during his junior season, averaging 21.0 points and 13.4 rebounds per game. That year, he guided North Caddo to a 29-4 overall record and a berth in the state semifinals of the Louisiana AA playoffs.