SAN FRANCISCO — After the Celtics finished practice at the University of San Francisco on Friday afternoon, a group of players and assistant coaches took part in a brief four-on-four scrimmage on the far court.
These sessions are typically reserved for players who don’t get much action in games and are just in need of some extra cardiovascular work to stay fresh. That’s why bench players such as Justin Jackson and Noah Vonleh were involved.
But for starting center Robert Williams, who has yet to play this season after undergoing September knee surgery, this session felt more like a dress rehearsal. On one play, guard Payton Pritchard drove toward the hoop and lofted a lob toward Williams, who jumped and converted a one-handed slam with little trouble.
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Williams and coach Joe Mazzulla flashed coy grins when they were asked whether Williams could make his season debut in Saturday’s Finals rematch against the Warriors, saying only that Williams was day-to-day. Later in the evening he was officially ruled out, but it seems clear that his return is imminent.
Williams has completed extensive three-on-three, four-on-four, and five-on-five scrimmages and has continued to check off necessary boxes without any setbacks.
“We’ve been getting after it, man,” he said.
Added Mazzulla: “He’s looked good. He’s looked like Rob.”
Williams was wearing a large, bulky brace on his left knee during Friday’s session, and at times he seemed to be moving tentatively, but he insisted that the hardware is not a hindrance.
When the lob-catching, shot-swatting big man comes back, he will bring a new dynamic to this Celtics team that has roared to the top of the NBA.
“We know the type of defender that Rob is, the type of player that Rob is, offensive player, the threat that he poses against defenses,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s only going to help our game tremendously. It’s going to help us guard, be able to fill even more, be more comfortable with getting up on guys and pressuring them and wreaking havoc on the opposing guards, so Rob is a special talent.”
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Williams tore the meniscus in his left knee last March, underwent surgery, and returned midway through Boston’s opening-round playoff sweep of the Nets. He never appeared fully healthy, however. He was sidelined for part of the conference semifinal series against the Bucks and looked hobbled during the Finals loss to the Warriors.
The Celtics were confident that Williams just needed an offseason of rest and rehabilitation to return to form, but when some pain reemerged as he ramped up workouts prior to training camp in September, it was decided that he would undergo a maintenance surgery.
After the Sept. 23 procedure the team said Williams would be sidelined for 8-12 weeks. He hit the 11-week mark on Friday.
“I think he’s had a great mind-set toward his rehab,” Mazzulla said. “He’s had a great mind-set toward coming back, and he’s doing all the things we’re asking him to do. It’s just a comfort level for him to kind of see where he is.”
The Celtics were never going to rush Williams back, but their 21-5 start probably erased any sense of urgency that might have existed. Williams, however, said the dominant run made him even more eager to return. His teammates were having so much fun without him, and he didn’t want to miss out.
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“But it’s great energy,” he said. “They keep my spirits up.”
Even without Williams, Saturday’s game has plenty of intrigue. But the Celtics have stressed that it is not really a chance at revenge. Ultimately, a regular-season December game will not be especially meaningful in the grand scheme. Still, the experience of getting to the Finals and the pain of losing has been a driving force during Boston’s scorching start.
“Most of the guys on the team know what it feels like to get to the top and lose,” forward Jayson Tatum said. “I can’t stress enough how tough that was and how bad that hurt. Everybody knows what the ultimate goal is.”
When Mazzulla was asked what he remembered most about the Game 6 loss that was followed by the Warriors’ celebration on the TD Garden court, he flipped the page.
“What I remember more is how they’re responding now,” he said. “It’s easy to be upset when something doesn’t go your way or you suffer a loss or a defeat. But to stay motivated months after and be locked in on what the long-term goals are, but also the short-term goals, says a lot about them.”
Boston will be without forward Al Horford, who remains in COVID-19 protocols, and Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who caused fits for the Celtics at both ends last June, is out because of a thigh injury.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.