Timelord (Woj: To play limited minutes in Game 3)

[hpantazo]

https://twitter.com/ChrisForsberg_/status/1508493460826988554

Official diagnosis is “torn lateral meniscus in his left knee”, with official timetable for recovery expected later this week. That’s the better of the meniscus injuries, correct? Hopefully that means a shorter recovery time/no surgery.

Yeah that's promising. It depends on the size/extent of the tear, but the lateral part heals faster/better because of more blood flow. I saw some source stated 4-6 weeks.

[jambr380]

https://twitter.com/ChrisForsberg_/status/1508493460826988554

Official diagnosis is “torn lateral meniscus in his left knee”, with official timetable for recovery expected later this week. That’s the better of the meniscus injuries, correct? Hopefully that means a shorter recovery time/no surgery.

Yep, definitely. Personally, I've had this happen to me twice in my life - both partial - and I was back running full speed again after a couple of weeks (I get that the Cs will be more careful than this). As long as it's not a full tear (needs surgery), we should see him again if the Cs can advance in the playoffs. The biggest issue with this kind of injury is bending and unbending the knee fully and being able to do so w/o pain.

It's also not something that should hamper him long-term. People hear 'tear' and equate it to an acl tear. Again, as long as it is only partial (and it should be since he kept playing), this shouldn't be amazingly serious. Let's just hope for the best possible outcome - poor James Wiseman is still on the shelf. There is just such a wide range of severity with this particular injury.

[Phantom255x]

Best case seems to be, maybe he can return by the 2nd round? If we can draw a non-BKN, non-MIL or non-PHI team in the 1st round, I think we'll be fine.

[Vermont Green]

Tough break for the Celtics but I don't think that changes that we are still a title contender.  Not as much as before the injury, RWill is a good player, and impactful player, but we do have others (Theis and GWill) who will need to step up.

Incidentally, I was curious to see the 2-man results for various combinations of our bigs, essentially with Theis in for RWill: (these are normalized per 100 possessions):

Horford/RWill       +13.6     51 games
Horford/Theis       +33.0       7 games

GWill/RWill            +4.7     56 games
Theis/GWill         +13.2      13 games

The sample size with Theis is admittedly small but Theis is better than both Horford and GWill than RWill was with either.  Again, small sample size and context but if you look only at the last 10 games:

Horford/RWill       +21.5
Horford/Theis       +32.9

GWill/RWill          +20.6
Theis/GWill         +14.9

Theis still pairs roughly as well with GWill and Horford as RWill does.  Theis should also be getting better still, at least a little.  Incidentally, Horford and GWill over the last 10 games are only +5.2, the worst combination.

We can overcome this.  According to these numbers, Horford and Theis should play the most, Theis and GWill the next most, and Horford and GWill the least.

Theis' ability to avoid foul trouble will probably flip this. Plus Theis needs to play when Al doesn't.

I don't think that is true.  Horford and Theis have played 44 total minutes in 7 games for a plus/minus of +29.  They are actually very good together.  That is why it is so critical that Theis stays out of foul trouble.  All combinations of Horford, Theis, and GWill are going to need to be used.  It will be like before we got Theis back but it will be Theis instead of RWill.

[seancally]

Definitely not good news, but I don’t think this necessarily ruins title hopes or anything like that. Timelord and Al are the two who are most expendable in our starting lineup, and I think we can reasonably cover for them without losing too much. Another thing to keep in mind that this does actually improve our shooting and spacing from the big position, as it means more time for shooting bigs or going smaller.

Hopefully we can get him back for the second or third round healthy on the way to a banner, ala Bosh for the Heat in 2012. Shouldn’t be an issue to get past the first round without him, though second round will be tougher.

I couldn't disagree more.  Are you referring to Daniel Theis as a "shooting big"? lol. Certainly not Luke Kornet.

Personally, I am scaling back my season's hopes here. Robert Williams is as essential to this team's success as any other starter.

Lol no

Now that’s a reply worthy of a room temperature IQ. Got any substance to add?

Apartment heat is on full blast today with the cold, so room temperature is getting up there!

Rob is awesome. He’s also our most replaceable starter. He is nowhere close to being as essential to this team’s success as either of the Jays. I argue that a healthy Horford is more helpful in this playoffs given Gianni’s and Embiid. And Smart is your DPOY point guard.

I’d also contend that our record over the last couple months is only marginally worse without Timelord in the lineup. Impossible to prove but the point there is not that he’s worthless, just that the team is humming so incredibly well that it should be able to withstand his absence.

[wiley]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

[SparzWizard]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

He's our 3rd best player on the team. You'll need him for guys like Giannis, Embiid, Adebayo etc. Probably also need him against Brooklyn too.

[BruceBanner18]

Best case seems to be, maybe he can return by the 2nd round? If we can draw a non-BKN, non-MIL or non-PHI team in the 1st round, I think we'll be fine.

The playoffs start in 3 weeks. With the right vitamins he'll be playing.

[seancally]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

He's our 3rd best player on the team. You'll need him for guys like Giannis, Embiid, Adebayo etc. Probably also need him against Brooklyn too.

Timelord may not be matched up against any of those guys. It’s probably Horford.

[Vermont Green]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

He's our 3rd best player on the team. You'll need him for guys like Giannis, Embiid, Adebayo etc. Probably also need him against Brooklyn too.

Timelord may not be matched up against any of those guys. It’s probably Horford.

Yeah, I agree.  RWill's defense is the most impactful when he defends off his man, not head to head.  The classic "rim protector" type role.  He has been great at that, better than Theis or GWil can be.  But head to head or man on man, Theis may be a better defender.

A 3 man big rotation of Horford, Theis, and GWill is not all that much worse overall than Horford, RWill, GWill.    Theis and RWill do different things better and I would always prefer to have RWill but I don't feel the difference is going to make all that much differnece (assuming we stay out of foul trouble).

[jpotter33]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

He's our 3rd best player on the team. You'll need him for guys like Giannis, Embiid, Adebayo etc. Probably also need him against Brooklyn too.

Except if you’ve been watching, he literally doesn’t guard any of those guys. Rather, that’s Horford’s job. Timelord has been playing the “safety” role in the defense on the other big, allowing him to roam and Al to take on the individual assignments against the stars where he’s been historically successful.

His absence will definitely hurt our rim protection, but I do think we can reasonably cover for him for the rest of the season and a series.

[CFAN38]

The success of this team with Time Lord out may depend on how Grant handles an expanded role. I suspect he starts the remainder of the season. If he can give the safe effort and production for 33mpg that he has been for 23mpg the Cs should keep rolling. The dynamic of the team changes but Grant is the type of player who can thrive in playoff basketball (Jae Crowder, PJ Tucker). Theis should also be fresh and rested for the playoff push.

My one fear is that Kornet cant really be counted on to defend vs small teams or Embiid making him a wasted roster spot in the playoffs. A bigger defensive 5 would be a nice luxury in case the Cs meet the 76ers in the playoffs. I wonder if Marc Gasol has any interest in returning to the NBA?

[jpotter33]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

He's our 3rd best player on the team. You'll need him for guys like Giannis, Embiid, Adebayo etc. Probably also need him against Brooklyn too.

Timelord may not be matched up against any of those guys. It’s probably Horford.

Yeah, I agree.  RWill's defense is the most impactful when he defends off his man, not head to head.  The classic "rim protector" type role.  He has been great at that, better than Theis or GWil can be.  But head to head or man on man, Theis may be a better defender.

A 3 man big rotation of Horford, Theis, and GWill is not all that much worse overall than Horford, RWill, GWill.    Theis and RWill do different things better and I would always prefer to have RWill but I don't feel the difference is going to make all that much differnece (assuming we stay out of foul trouble).

Yeah, that’s the big issue - foul trouble. If we draw Philly or Milwaukee in the second round, we’ll need that fourth big given how much leeway on fouls both Embiid and Giannis get.

[kraidstar]

Best case seems to be, maybe he can return by the 2nd round? If we can draw a non-BKN, non-MIL or non-PHI team in the 1st round, I think we'll be fine.

The playoffs start in 3 weeks. With the right vitamins he'll be playing.

Somebody get LeBron on the phone pronto!

[spikelovetheCelts]

imo he's essential...not to win a round or two...but to win the title he's essential.

You don't beat the Bucks, 76ers Suns without Robert Williams. I hope he heals fast but he has been slow in the past. He did try to play after so that is a good sign.