Boston Celtics center Robert Williams hasn't been himself lately.

His diminished play is likely the result of the surgery he had for a torn meniscus that caused him to miss the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs.

According to Williams, the knee is still sore but he tries his best to play through the pain.

"I was really having my knee drained a lot last series,” Williams III confirmed to Yahoo Sports. “I stopped draining it because there was no point, in my opinion. My knee kept filling back up with fluid. So, I’ve kind of learned how to manage it to be able to play.”

The Celtics' medical staff has told Williams he doesn't risk permanent damage by playing on the sore knee.

Former Celtic Isaiah Thomas had something to say about that.

Heard that before lol https://t.co/oxOEWdvRyT

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) June 16, 2022

"Heard that before lol," Thomas typed.

In 2017, Thomas injured his hip while playing for Boston.  The medical staff said it was bone bruise and he played through it, averaging 28.9 points for the season.

But it was actually a right femoral-acetabular impingement with labral tear. The next year he was traded and averaged only 14 points a game.  Now the 33-year old plays on ten day contracts.

"The only thing that I think they handled wrong was not explaining to me what the extent of my injury could be if I do play," Thomas said last year of Boston's medical staff. "That was the biggest thing for me that I disliked. 'Cause nobody gave me no insight, 'OK, you do play, this can happen.'"