The Portland Trail Blazers are in the midst of a disappointing 2024-25 NBA season, holding No. 12 position in the Western Conference with a 31-39 record.
The Trail Blazers are notably thin in the post. Starting center Deandre Ayton has been out with a left calf strain since Portland's loss to the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 10, missing each of his team's last 16 games.
On Thursday, Portland got some more bad news at the center position.
Backup big man Robert Williams has missed each of the Trail Blazers' last 14 games with a knee injury. Before Friday night's matchup against the Nuggets, Portland announced its decision to shut down Williams for the next 4-6 weeks.
Williams will undergo arthroscopic surgery to address inflammation in his left knee.
"Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III underwent an arthroscopic procedure today to address inflammation in his left knee. He is expected to make a full recovery and will miss 4-6 weeks," the team wrote in an announcement on X.
Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III underwent an arthroscopic procedure today to address inflammation in his left knee.
He is expected to make a full recovery and will miss 4-6 weeks. pic.twitter.com/3PL9UShkxO
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 20, 2025
Williams joined the Trail Blazers franchise before the 2023-24 season after spending the first five years of his NBA career with the Boston Celtics. He appeared in just six games for Portland in 2023-24 after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Trough 20 games for the Trail Blazers this season, Williams averaged 5.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 17.6 minutes per game.
The Trail Blazers will welcome the Nuggets to Portland for a matchup at the Moda Center on Friday night. That contest is scheduled to tipoff at 10 p.m. EDT.
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This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 4:19 PM.