Robert Williams III Practices, Nearing Return From Concussion Protocol
Williams has missed the Trail Blazers' last six games.
📍 TUALATIN, Ore. — Just two days after news of Donovan Clingan’s imminent return from a knee injury, the Trail Blazers got some more good news about one of their injured centers.
Robert Williams III, who has missed Portland’s last six games while in concussion protocol, is in the final stages of being cleared to return to play. He participated fully in Thursday’s practice and could play Friday against the San Antonio Spurs if he clears one final computer-based test from the team’s medical staff.
“It’s one of the most sensitive things to deal with in sports, so you’ve got to be careful,” Williams said after practice Thursday. “It was scary, but it’s part of the game. When you take a fall like that, you have to slow down and go through all the tests. Nobody wants to get injured.”
Williams suffered the concussion in the first half of the Blazers’ Nov. 25 loss in Memphis and was placed in protocols the following day. He did not join the team on two short road trips to Los Angeles for recent games against the Clippers and Lakers, and wasn’t even able to be at Moda Center for home games, as he was required to avoid places with lights and loud noises while he was experiencing concussion symptoms.
“I was in a daze,” Williams said. “Nausea, headaches, stuff like that. I didn’t feel terrible. I’ve seen people with worse concussions than mine, for sure. But it slowed me down.”
Williams has dealt with more than his share of injuries in his career, including missing all but six games of last season after having knee surgery, and missing the beginning of this season with a hamstring injury. But this was his first concussion, and it was a different kind of recovery.
With his previous injuries, an X-ray or MRI can diagnose it and give the medical staff a timetable for a return. But there’s no set timetable for returning from a concussion—it completely varies person-to-person how quickly they recover, and the NBA has a rigorous set of return-to-play protocols that players have to clear before they’re allowed to play again.
“It was scary,” Williams said. “When you hurt something physically, like a knee or ankle, you progress based on walking and moving. So I couldn’t move forward until my tests on the computer came back right. So it was just a lot of taking those tests.”
Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said Thursday that if Williams passes the final test and he gets the go-ahead from the Blazers’ medical staff, he would feel comfortable playing him on Friday.
“Super comfortable,” Billups said. “If they tell me at 6:57, he’ll be ready to go at 7.”
For Williams, the most frustrating part of this latest setback is that, unlike a physical injury, he couldn’t even be on the bench in street clothes. Being able to cheer from the bench and coach up his teammates, even when he can’t play, is something he feels is important.
“I’m not going to give us credit for it, but the way people play on the court, their teammates push them a lot. When Toumani turns around and sees the whole bench celebrating when he locked [an opponent] up, that keeps people going. So we try to instill that in everybody.
“I feel like with my teammates, my voice is really respected. We were falling in certain areas in games with a lack of communication, and I feel like I could have helped with that.”
Williams’ six-game absence for the concussion comes after he missed the first seven games of the season with a hamstring injury he suffered during training camp. He’s played just seven games this season, but in those seven games, he’s been one of the Blazers’ most impactful players at both ends of the floor. As trade season approaches, his name will undoubtedly be the ones mentioned with the Blazers as receiving interest from other teams.
But for now, he’s just happy to be able to play again, which could happen as soon as tomorrow.
“I’m tired of dealing with all this shit, man,” he said. “I miss the game so much. Trying to have fun with my teammates on the court, not just in practice.”