How will the Portland Trail Blazers cope now that they’ve lost Robert Williams III for the season?
Though it’s early days in the 2023-24 NBA regular season, it appears the campaign is already over for the Blazers’ big man now that he’s set to have surgery.
Given that the former Celtics center was only acquired this offseason, there will likely be some head-scratching in Portland as the team tries to figure out how they will rehabilitate and utilize a player who’s had a complicated history when it comes to injuries.
Robert Williams III sees his season end with surgery
According to reports, Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III will not play again in 2023-24. After sustaining a right knee injury against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 5th, Williams will now require an operation that will bring an end to his season. With that said, the former Celtics center is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the 2024-25 NBA regular season.
Needless to say, this comes as a blow to the Portland-based franchise after the team acquired Williams this past October as part of the trade that sent Jrue Holiday, whom Portland secured in exchange for Damian Lillard, to the Boston Celtics. Though some might be inclined to say this was expected given how much Williams has struggled with injury across his career, there was definitely logic in this decision. Having also acquired Deandre Ayton, one has to assume that the thinking was that Williams could act as a backup to Ayton which would simultaneously limit his minutes, thereby preserving his physical health. Sadly, that will not be the case.
It’s been difficult for Robert Williams III
As mentioned before, Williams has missed quite a lot of time in his career due to injury. To put things in perspective, the 26-year-old has only played in 209 games across the five seasons that he spent in Boston. While a torn meniscus in 2021-22 was by far the most severe of a slew of injuries, it’s worth noting that he also missed more than half of this most recent season after undergoing surgery on the said same knee following Boston’s run to the 2022 NBA Finals.
Where his numbers are concerned, it is perhaps what compounds the issue with Williams in that they were decent. With 19.8 minutes per game so far this season in Portland, Williams was averaging 6.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Now that he’s been sidelined, it’s clear that the Blazers will require more from Ayton who for his part has been averaging 30.1 minutes per game. Of course, there is also rookie Toumani Camara, who it has to be said is somewhat small for the position but has shown promise when asked to play it.