{"id":105886,"date":"2024-11-09T00:25:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-09T05:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=105886"},"modified":"2024-11-09T00:25:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-09T05:25:18","slug":"blazers-robert-williams-iii-long-awaited-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/09\/blazers-robert-williams-iii-long-awaited-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Blazers Shot-Blocking Specialist Makes Long-Awaited Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Portland Trail Blazers don\u2019t have much to get excited about these days. Friday night was a different story.<\/p>\n<p>In what was a great chance to see where they stack up against a championship-contender, the Blazers faced off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Honestly, their eventual loss couldn\u2019t have caught them off guard due to the talent disparity. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/05\/should-blazers-trust-rebuild-trade-block\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">as a rebuilding team<\/a>, moral victories can be as important as whether they win the game.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, Portland might have been dissatisfied by the end result, but they can be happy about at least one player\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<h2>Blazers Shot-Blocking Specialist Robert Williams III Makes Long-Awaited Return<\/h2>\n<p>With 3:13 remaining in the first quarter, big man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/williro04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Robert Williams III<\/a> checked into a game for the first time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/blazers\/news\/robert-williams-iii-undergoes-right-knee-surgery\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">since sustaining a patellar dislocation<\/a> against the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 5, 2023. At 369 days, Williams had been <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hoopshype\/status\/1853530486263734491\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sidelined longer than any player<\/a> in the NBA (h\/t HoopsHype). Suffice it to say, it was a momentous occasion for the former first-round pick.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Robert Williams III checks in <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RipCity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RipCity<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QxIKvvk33J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/QxIKvvk33J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DJACK (@topshotblazers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/topshotblazers\/status\/1855075453897523269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He scored his first basket since Nov. 5 with one second remaining in the first quarter, double-tapping a tip-in.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">First bucket back for Rob Will \ud83d\udcaa <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7OChz3GZaB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7OChz3GZaB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trailblazers\/status\/1855077639922631021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that removed some jitters, because Williams picked up the pace after that.<\/p>\n<p>He skied to tip-in a lob in the Blazers\u2019 first attempt of the second quarter. He followed that up by nailing a pair of free-throws, finishing another alley-oop, then making terrific defensive plays. His defense was what was most exhilarating, as he\u2019s earned a reputation as a spine-chilling shot-blocker.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Robert Williams III extends as highest he can get to score that tip in off a lob by Sharpe.<br \/>\nBack-to-back great defense as well (with replays) <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/emnlxgf3yY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/emnlxgf3yY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MrBuckBuckNBA\/status\/1855080899257282630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, by the end of the second quarter, Williams had made his first career three-pointer.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">FIRST CAREER 3 FOR ROB \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udd25 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YyXyXLL9g6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/YyXyXLL9g6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trailblazers\/status\/1855082766347780133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>At halftime, he went into the locker room with 13 points, two steals, and one block while going 4-5 from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Maybe dominant isn\u2019t the right word but he looks like he hasn\u2019t missed a beat.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">What a shift from Robert Williams III after being away for over a year:<\/p>\n<p>11 minutes<br \/>\n13 points<br \/>\n4\/5 FGA<br \/>\n4\/4 FTA<br \/>\n1\/1 3FG<br \/>\n3 REBS<br \/>\n1 AST<br \/>\n2 STLS<br \/>\n1 BLK<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DannyMarang\/status\/1855082216164102493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 9, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That bodes well for the Blazers, whether they see him in their long-term plans or they\u2019re looking at his trade value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Portland Trail Blazers don\u2019t have much to get excited about these days. Friday night was a different story. In what was a great chance to see where they stack up against a championship-contender, the Blazers faced off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Honestly, their eventual loss couldn\u2019t have caught them off guard due to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":105891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1608,62,3],"tags":[4745,4613],"class_list":["post-105886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trailblazers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-nba-injuries","tag-robert-williams-iii"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}