Grant Williams: From basketball bully, to burying threes

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LAS VEGAS -- Giving the game what it needs. 

In many ways this was how Grant Williams lived his basketball life at Tennessee, powering his way for baskets at the rim while teammates Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander helped keep the floor well-spaced by each connecting on better than 40 percent of their threes taken. 

Which raised some concerns about whether the 6-foot-7 Williams could be a legit three-point threat in the NBA.

It’s still early, but Williams’ summer league debut certainly was a step in the right direction, showing he was more than just a strong, overpowering basketball bully but also a legit threat to bury threes. 

Williams' play was a key factor in Boston’s 96-82 summer league win over Philadelphia as he came off the bench and scored 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting which included going 2-for-3 from three-point range. 

The two-time SEC Player of the Year came in well aware that his three-point shooting was seen by some as a weakness. 

At Tennessee, he shot 32.6 percent from three-point range while averaging just 1.2 attempts per game which was the lowest attempt average among Volunteer starters last season. 

But with the Celtics, Williams says the coaching staff has encouraged him to let it fly often.

“That’s different,” Williams said with a grin. “It’s really nice to impact the game in a different way.”

And that more than anything else, seems to be the prevailing thought and sentiment around Williams’ game. 

He’s not going to wow you with some amazing crossover dribble and finish at the rim. Don’t look for him to start launching 30-footers a la Steph Curry, either. 

What he showed in Boston’s first summer league game is what those who followed Tennessee the past couple of years saw, and that’s a highly motivated, difference-maker who finds different ways to put his imprint on games more times than not. 

The 12-point, six-rebound performance against the Sixers was nice, but more telling when it came to Williams was his game-best plus/minus of +21 which exemplified how good things happened seemingly whenever he was on the floor for Boston. 

And going forward, he’ll look to do that for the Celtics whether it be as a starter or in what’s a more likely role, coming off the bench as he did on Saturday. 

“Whatever I can do whether it’s diving on the floor, blocking a shot, knocking down the open shot, it’s just a matter of winning,” Williams said. 

That’s Williams’ approach to summer league and for that matter, the NBA. 

Giving the game whatever it needs. 

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