Report: Celtics' Tatum, Brown Met with Mazzula over Grant Williams' Lack of Game Time

While fans and analysts were puzzled by the lack of playing time for Grant Williams in the playoffs, the Boston Celtics' two best players voiced their concerns about the 24-year-old not getting on the court enough going back to the regular season.

Per The Athletic's Jay King and Jared Weiss, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown met with head coach Joe Mazzulla in early March "to implore him to put Williams back into the rotation" because they believed he would be "crucial" to them having success in the postseason.

There was a noticeable shift in how Mazzulla used Williams over the course of the season. The power forward started 21 of the first 57 games he played and averaged 28.0 minutes per contest through Feb. 14.

Over the final 22 games he played, Williams only started twice and averaged 20.4 minutes. His efficiency did significantly drop from 41.1 percent behind the arc in his first 57 appearances to 35.4 percent over the final 22 games.

Per Howe and Weiss, Mazzulla wanted to get Sam Hauser "more experience to prepare him for the playoffs" because the coaching staff believed in his offensive production and "his ability to hold up decently in isolation made him impactful."

Williams didn't play in three of the first five games and only played 56 seconds in Game 4 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. He played in each of the first five games against the Philadelphia 76ers but wasn't used in Game 6 and was on the floor for three minutes in Game 7.

After holding Williams out of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Mazzulla told reporters it was part of "a plan to use the depth that we need in order to give us the lineups that we think can really help us."

Mazzulla added he liked what Payton Pritchard offered by giving them "an opportunity with his shooting, with his playmaking, his pick-and-roll defense."

There was a clear shift in the approach after that game because Williams played the final six games against the Miami Heat, including 25 minutes in four consecutive appearances from Games 2-5.

During last year's playoff run with Ime Udoka as head coach, Williams averaged 27.2 minutes per game and shot 39.3 percent from three-point range.

It's hard to know if Williams' struggles were the product of inconsistent playing time or if his playing time was reduced because he was struggling.

Mazzulla never seemed to figure out the right answers with his lineup throughout the playoffs. Hauser didn't make a postseason impact with 2.0 points per contest on 34.5 percent shooting in 15 appearances.

The Celtics' quest to get back to the NBA Finals came up short with a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Heat in seven games.