Celtics’ Robert Williams questionable for Game 3 vs. Heat with knee soreness

BOSTON — It sounds like the Celtics won’t have center Robert Williams for Saturday night’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. Williams is expected to miss Saturday’s tilt as he deals with left knee soreness.

Williams popped up on the Celtics’ injury report Saturday afternoon, listed as questionable for the game, but won’t play according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ime Udoka said that Williams’ status was still TBD when he briefly spoke with reporters ahead of Game 3.

“He had some soreness and swelling that popped up. Got it checked out this morning, will be checked out again in the next few minutes and we’ll determine from there,” said Udoka.

Udoka said that if Williams can’t play, Daniel Theis will start in his place. That’s a change of pace for the Celtics, with Grant Williams usually playing power forward and Al Horford moving to center when Williams missed previous games this postseason.

Robert Williams has played in seven of Boston’s 13 games so far this postseason, averaging 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. He had 18 points and nine rebounds in Boston’s Game 1 loss in Miami, and five points, four rebounds, and three blocks over 20 minutes in a Game 2 win on Thursday night.

He had looked like his usual self in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, but has been dealing with knee soreness since he returned from meniscus surgery in the first round. It didn’t help that he suffered a bone bruise following a big hit from Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3 of the second round, forcing Williams to miss the next three games of that series. (He was available for Game 7 but did not play.) Udoka said that this soreness stemmed from the bone bruise and not the surgery.

The Celtics and the Heat are tied at 1-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Tip off for Game 3 is set for shortly after 8:30pm on Saturday night.