Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams has been suspended for one game after being ejected from Monday's loss to the Chicago Bulls, the NBA announced Wednesday. The suspension is for "recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a game official." The moment in question came in the fourth quarter of Monday's loss to the Bulls, after Williams was called for a blocking foul while the Celtics trailed by 18.
Grant Williams joins Joe Mazzulla as he also gets ejected after bumping into the referee pic.twitter.com/htZxVuePnq
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) October 25, 2022
Williams will serve his suspension on Friday, when the Celtics take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston couldn't have asked for a worse opponent to face without him. The Celtics are already missing Robert Williams III due to injury, so they will now battle the Cavaliers, with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen up front, with two of their three primary big men out. It is not yet clear if Darius Garland will play for Cleveland as he recovers from his own injury.
The Celtics have picked up right where they left off last season. After coming two wins short of the championship, Boston won its first three games to open the regular season, but Monday represented the team's first setback of the regular season. The Celtics were blown out by the Bulls, 120-102, and Williams lost control of his temper in the process.
He'll have to avoid such incidents moving forward as he and the Celtics did not agree to a long-term contract extension before the season. Williams is playing for a contract now with restricted free agency looming, so staying on the floor is paramount.
