Even a year later Grant Williams keeps the turn of the Finals 2022 in the throat. The Celtics had achieved a perfect second half of the season and thwarted all the pitfalls in the playoffs to reach the final against the Warriors with a Stephen Curry in MVP mode.
It is an understatement to say that the new interior of the Mavericks was branded for the feat achieved by Stephen Curry in Game 4, when the leader of Golden State had reversed the course of the game almost single-handedly with 43 points, and that of the series with to allow his team to win 4-2.
“We reach the final and we lead 2-1. You’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll handle this. It’s our time. We are about to get there. In Game 4, we led throughout the game. We said to ourselves: ‘If we get to 3-1, we could even go back to Golden State and win the next one’. But this man was different. Just different. It’s one of those times when I look back and realize how tough he is.”, he thus confided.
A permanent threat to the opposing team
Grant Williams was as many amazed by the exploits of Stephen Curry even before joining the league, but the fact of having been able to face him “in real life” confirmed it: Stephen Curry is not a star like the others.
“I grew up in Charlotte. I grew up watching the Warriors and Cavaliers when I was in college. I remember watching those shows and he was already absurd to watch back then. Then I played against him and then I said to myself: ‘He is really different’. I learned to appreciate it at that time”.
The reason ? Stephen Curry is to be watched like milk on fire, for his ability to trigger everywhere when he has the leather in his hands, but also to influence the game when he does not have the ball.
A real nightmare for a defense that still gives poor Grant Williams bad nights.
“Here’s what I learned: Kevin Durant is by far the hardest person to defend in the league, in my eyes. But Steph Curry is the player with the most impact on a team in the league. You have to watch him both when he has the ball and when he doesn’t. Once he’s given the ball away, you may even have to be more scared of him than when he has it.”
No luck for him, with his trade from Boston to Dallas, in the same conference as Stephen Curry, Grant Williams is good for a few more nightmares in the coming season, and the following ones…
| Grant Williams | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 69 | 15 | 41.2 | 25.0 | 72.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 3.4 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 63 | 18 | 43.7 | 37.2 | 58.8 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 4.7 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 77 | 24 | 47.5 | 41.1 | 90.5 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 7.8 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 79 | 26 | 45.4 | 39.5 | 77.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 8.1 |
| Total | 288 | 21 | 45.1 | 37.9 | 77.3 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 6.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
