BOSTON — After the Celtics lost their head coach and a few players, they’re in a bit of a hole. Luckily they still have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and a powerful backcourt. But if they want to make it back to the finals, Grant Williams needs to take that next step. 

One of the biggest reasons is because of the lack of front court scoring. The C’s picked up Danilo Gallinari this summer, but suffered a career-ending injury this summer. Now Robert Williams out for 8 to 12 weeks. And Al Horford is aging. G. Williams will be needed. 

The Celtics are a couple days into training camp so as the preseason progresses it’ll be interesting to see how he developed his game in the summer. Last year the 6’6 power forward that played in Tennessee only averaged 7.8 points. 

Sure he’s undersized on the defensive end, but he can get a bucket. When the Celtics went on their run in the second half of the season, we saw G. Williams shoot corner 3’s, defend on the perimeter, and cleanup boards. He’s a tough competitor that averaged 18 points as a Volunteer his third year there. But the 7.8 points isn’t cutting it. 

He’s still going to come off the bench, the C’s backcourt is so talented that they can lean on them for most games. But basketball is more than just guards. The front office tried to make changes for their big guys, but it just didn’t pan out well. 

Despite the hole that their in, I believe G. Williams will become that dark horse for the Celtics. He’ll average 12 to 15 points a night with 6 rebounds. If he can do that, they can switch the direction that the Celtics’ franchise is heading.