Boston Celtics center Robert Williams reportedly was throwing up during the loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday.
"I'm told that Robert Williams was throwing up during (Game 7)."
Our NBA Insider @ShamsCharania has the details behind another Celtics' health matter. pic.twitter.com/AFkMW0UFlD
— Stadium (@Stadium) May 30, 2023
“There was one other health matter that a Celtics player had,” Charania said. “I’m told that Robert Williams was throwing up during the game. He only played 14 minutes last night. He was coming in and coming out of the game. When he would come out, he would throw up. He was dealing with a stomach virus, a stomach bug that he played through it. He was sick yesterday. He’s sick going into today, only played 14 minutes. And so that’s a guy that the Celtics have depended on a lot over the course of the last couple of years.”
Williams was clearly limited in the season-ending 103-84 defeat after averaging more than 19 minutes per game in the first six games of the series. He did manage to score eight points and grab six rebounds on Monday despite having to repeatedly leave the game.
It wasn’t the only setback suffered by the Celtics, who were trying to make history and become the first NBA team to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games. Star forward Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle on the first play of Game 7 and scored just 14 points. In Game 7 of the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, Tatum scored 51 points in a 112-88 win.
Miami took full advantage of Boston’s misfortune and avoided what would have been a historic collapse. With Tatum and Williams ailing, Miami held Boston to 39.0 percent shooting from the field. By comparison, the Heat shot 48.8 percent.
Miami will face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 on the road Thursday. The Nuggets have not played since May 22 and will be well-rested after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
The Heat have dealt with their own misfortune during these playoffs. They lost high-scoring guard Tyler Herro to a hand injury in Game 1 of the first round and have relied on a balanced attack featuring Jimmy Butler with a boost from Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent. Herro reportedly is being monitored to see if he can return to play at some point during the Finals.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra has been praised for the job he has done getting the Heat to this point. He had them ready to go in Game 7 after dropping Game 6 at home in heartbreaking fashion.
The response is surely one of the reasons ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy called Spoelstra the best head coach in Heat history.
