Training camps are in full swing across the NBA, and unfortunately, that means that a few players will suffer some quick injuries as they start to stretch their bodies to the limit.
The Portland Trail Blazers are squarely in the thick of a rebuilding process a year after trading Damian Lillard, and they have already suffered a bit of a blow to their hopes of accomplishing their goals this season.
Center Robert Williams III has suffered a hamstring strain and is reportedly expected to miss two weeks of action, per ClutchPoints.
The Trail Blazers have announced that Robert Williams III experienced a grade 1 hamstring strain during training camp this week.
He is expected to miss two weeks. pic.twitter.com/HPuX8b0OBM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 4, 2024
Near the end of last summer, the Blazers sent Lillard, who had asked to be traded, to the Milwaukee Bucks and received guard Jrue Holiday as part of the package they got back.
They then shipped Holiday to the Boston Celtics shortly afterward, which is how they acquired Williams.
Williams played in just six games with the Blazers last season because of a dislocated patella, but at age 26, he could be a real part of their future.
He is a classic defensive-minded shot-blocking center who is also a good rebounder despite standing just 6-foot-9, and he was named to the All-Defensive second team during the 2021-22 season when he averaged 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game.
That was the year the Celtics went to the NBA Finals, only to lose to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
With a revamped starting lineup that included Holiday, the Celtics won their first world championship since 2008 in June over the Dallas Mavericks.
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