Boston loses as a result of Grant Williams’ epically unsuccessful trash talking and missed crucial free throws for the Celtics.

Anyone can talk trash. It’s quite another skill to talk trash and be able to back it up. Boston Celtics’ big man Grant Williams learned that the hard way on March 7, and his team ended up paying the price for it.

When done properly, trash talk can be a valuable part of one’s game. Players like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal were notorious for their ability to get in the heads of their opponents during their playing days, using their words to goad their rivals into mistakes and get a leg up in yet another facet of their game. 

When it fails, however, it makes a player look foolish in front of the entire sports world, adding insult to injury… to themselves.

Playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home with the score tied late, Williams got fouled on a put-back attempt. With just .8 seconds remaining in the game, the ensuing free throw attempts gave Williams an opportunity to win the game.

Williams began to jaw at Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell, telling him he’d make both attempts to put the Cavaliers to bed. Instead he missed both attempts badly, clanging each shot off the rim. The game then went to overtime, and the Celtics ended up losing 118-114, continuing a difficult stretch by the team. They’re still one of the best teams in the NBA, but they’ll need to start showing it soon.

After the Celtics led the NBA with the best odds of winning the 2023 NBA Championship for the vast majority of the season, the Milwaukee Bucks have drawn even with Boston at Massachusetts’ BetMGM sportsbook. Both teams are listed at +325 to win it all this year after the end of play on Thursday, tied for the best margin in the league. Boston has a slight leg up on Milwaukee, however, listed at +135 to win the Eastern Conference: better than the Bucks’ +150 odds.Make sure to use a BetMGM bonus code in Massachusetts if you want to place a bet on the C’s, or any other eligible sporting event.

Williams’ blunder was the latest in a stretch of ignominious moments for Boston. 

The Celtics have stumbled out of the gate since the All-Star Break, going 4-4 in the time span despite having All-Star guard Jaylen Brown back from injury and playing at a high level. They’ve slipped from having the best record in the league to trailing the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. With less than 20 games to go in the regular season, Joe Mazzulla’s team has time to figure things out, but they’ll need to do it sooner rather than later. 

Williams doubled down after the game in a conversation he had with reporters after the game, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

He said he was ready to move on from the event, and that he saw the amusing irony in the situation. 

“I felt like I was super locked in and focused, even the confidence of saying you’ll make them both,” Williams said. “It’s funny because when you say that and miss both, it’s even funnier. But for me it’s just a matter of understanding that happens and you can’t beat yourself up too much. All you have to do is prepare for the next game and survive.”

Hopefully, the Celtics are able to move on from the issue as well: they rebounded nicely, obliterating the Portland Trail Blazers 115-93 on the road, with Williams adding eight points and five rebounds in 12 minutes of play, playing the entire fourth quarter with the game firmly out of hand.

 

He’s dealt with an elbow injury since the break and has seen his minutes lag because of it, and a decreased standard of play. 

As part of the same conversation, Williams said he’s got to increase his confidence and keep making shots, even when they aren’t falling the way he wants them too. 

“That’s what the team encourages me to do,” Williams said. “And a lot of times I don’t necessarily listen to that advice. So I have to be better at that.”

Hopefully the 24 year old will manage to figure things out and continue to mature as a player. Williams, who played for the Tennessee Volunteers for four years on the way to being the Celtics’ first-round draft pick in 2019, is averaging 8.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season, each of which would be a career high.