Robert Williams out with knee injury - What the center's absence means for the Boston Celtics

How will an injury to starting center Robert Williams III affect the Boston Celtics' ability to contend in the Eastern Conference?

After Williams left the Celtics' blowout win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday with a knee injury, tests Monday revealed a torn meniscus, which will sideline him the remainder of the regular season at a minimum.

The win was Boston's 12th by 20-plus points since Jan. 23, as many as any other East team has all season (the Milwaukee Bucks are second overall in the conference with 12 behind the Celtics' season-long total of 15; no other East team has more than the Charlotte Hornets' nine).

With Boston also showing the ability to win closer games, the team has climbed into a tie for first in the East with the Miami Heat, a half-game up on the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers as part of a tier of teams competing for the top two seeds in the conference.

The Celtics had become a favorite of statistical projections and a trendy pick to win the East. How does Williams' injury change the equation? Let's break it down.

Although Williams is only sixth on the Celtics in scoring at 10.0 points per game, behind the departed Dennis Schroder as well as reserve Derrick White, that doesn't measure his key role in Boston's success.

Williams is a linchpin of Boston's league-leading defense. The Celtics are allowing an NBA-low 105.9 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA Advanced Stats, and have been far better relative to everyone else as the season has gone on. Since the start of the new year, Boston's 104.3 defensive rating is 4.5 points per 100 possessions lower than the second-place team (the Dallas Mavericks at 108.8).

In part, the Celtics' defense evolved when first-year head coach Ime Udoka made