The Time Lord: Welcome Robert Williams!

[Andrew McCeltic]

Nobody has really mentioned what truly makes Williams potentially the steal of the draft. His hops are great and his shot blocking has been elite in limited minutes. But it is his defensive versatility that is so unique. Once he learns where to be and how to play team defense, he can be KG like as a help defender and flashing 3 pt. shooters. He really looks like a legit difference maker on defense.

Those are the questions for me - how smart can he get defensively in his reactions, and can he defend out to the perimeter. I have Bamba and Jackson ahead of him in those respects right now, because they're a year younger, and look more agile - but Williams could viably pass them in both categories. It's very early for all of them, the book on each of them should change. The initial hype on Towns, remember, talked about how coachable he was, how he'd improve defensively, and no talk about him being "soft." And at this point in Okafor's career, he was putting up points without a huge sample of plus-minus or a belief he was a lost cause defensively.

[Darth Celtic]

The kid is blocking a shot every 7 mins or so and has a PER of 23.7. He needs more mins to see if those numbers stack up. He passes the eye test. When he is on the floor, our team is better. And that's the key. Even with missed rotations, the team is better with him on the court.

[Roland2000]

He is great! One important thing to remember....We don't have to worry about the future of our center position. We are deep and versatile as hell in the position.

I hope Time Lord can also learn to play a bit of power forward as well.

[La Flame]

I'm just glad we finally drafted a proper big. We could have used a guy like that since 2010

[shackles10]

If Bob Williams were on the Pierce/KG teams we win at least 1 maybe 2 more titles. We never drafted any worthwhile big to help the team as it aged. Throw in him learning from KG and he has a higher projectory than he does now.

[theman]

Read on Twitter

So neither of them did very well?

Uh, holding Davis to 15 points off 7-of-17 shooting is terrific.

That is 36 combined points for the two players. He is averaging 27 points per game. His 41 points in the game were his second highest of the season.

The 41% shooting William held Davis to is not bad considering he is averaging about 50% on the season but it is almost identical to the 42% the Celtics held him to on Nov 26th.

I like Williams, I'm just not willing to anoint him Deke 2.0 just yet.

[3D Chess]

So neither of them did very well?

Uh, holding Davis to 15 points off 7-of-17 shooting is terrific.

That is 36 combined points for the two players. He is averaging 27 points per game. His 41 points in the game were his second highest of the season.

The 41% shooting William held Davis to is not bad considering he is averaging about 50% on the season but it is almost identical to the 42% the Celtics held him to on Nov 26th.

I like Williams, I'm just not willing to anoint him Deke 2.0 just yet.

Thank you for this truly terrible analysis.

[Andrew McCeltic]

So he defends as well as Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes did in November? Not bad for a rookie whose previous career high in minutes was 8:37.

[JHTruth]

If Bob Williams were on the Pierce/KG teams we win at least 1 maybe 2 more titles. We never drafted any worthwhile big to help the team as it aged. Throw in him learning from KG and he has a higher projectory than he does now.

Yeah as much as I loved Perk he was always very limited and then he got injured and was slower and more limited than ever..

[brackdan70]

Sums it up

[grindtime22]

So neither of them did very well?

Uh, holding Davis to 15 points off 7-of-17 shooting is terrific.

That is 36 combined points for the two players. He is averaging 27 points per game. His 41 points in the game were his second highest of the season.

The 41% shooting William held Davis to is not bad considering he is averaging about 50% on the season but it is almost identical to the 42% the Celtics held him to on Nov 26th.

I like Williams, I'm just not willing to anoint him Deke 2.0 just yet.

The defense against him in November was really good. This is how we play these guys. You want to eat, go for it. We are going to make it as tough as possible while staying home. With that said, equating Williams 41% to the 42% in November is still pretty silly. Davis shot 12 free throws in that game and he ended up with a TS% of about 55. You will take that with the approach we take against him, but it isn't the same as BOB sending him to the line 1 time.

It came easy when Theis was on the floor guarding him. It was a very noticeable difference, especially in the first half. Williams played him very well and made it tough on him. It was really good defense from him and that really isn't debatable. Was he perfect? No, but 41% is more than okay against one of the very best players in the league, especially when he isn't getting to the line much. Their offense ground to a halt when Williams defended Davis. The Pelicans scored 23 points on those 32 possessions and BOB was part of that. An offensive rating of 72

[SmartWentCrazy]

My assessment is accurate. He lacks that zeal, determination to dominate. His long arms seemed to affect davis on some shots.

It's sad that you live in such a mentally disabled state of life that you need to insult those who have a different opinion.. Lol

Look, get in a pissing match all you want, but the bolded is entirely out of bounds and inappropriate. Grow up.

[djFan71]

Nobody has really mentioned what truly makes Williams potentially the steal of the draft. His hops are great and his shot blocking has been elite in limited minutes. But it is his defensive versatility that is so unique. Once he learns where to be and how to play team defense, he can be KG like as a help defender and flashing 3 pt. shooters. He really looks like a legit difference maker on defense.

Those are the questions for me - how smart can he get defensively in his reactions, and can he defend out to the perimeter. I have Bamba and Jackson ahead of him in those respects right now, because they're a year younger, and look more agile - but Williams could viably pass them in both categories. It's very early for all of them, the book on each of them should change. The initial hype on Towns, remember, talked about how coachable he was, how he'd improve defensively, and no talk about him being "soft." And at this point in Okafor's career, he was putting up points without a huge sample of plus-minus or a belief he was a lost cause defensively.

If I remember right, there were a few preseason games where Williams got switched out on perimeter players and did a great job staying with them. He was quick laterally, and if he backed off them he could still get up and contest/block jumpers with his insane quickness & winspan. I forget which game it was and when, but I remember talking about it afterwards and being excited about that potential.

[Homerclease]

My assessment is accurate. He lacks that zeal, determination to dominate. His long arms seemed to affect davis on some shots.

It's sad that you live in such a mentally disabled state of life that you need to insult those who have a different opinion.. Lol

My son has Down syndrome and cerebral palsy and I can assure you sir, that he gets more out of life in a day than you ever will in your lifetime.

Trash like this is why I stopped posting.

[Feed Your Head]

My assessment is accurate. He lacks that zeal, determination to dominate. His long arms seemed to affect davis on some shots.

It's sad that you live in such a mentally disabled state of life that you need to insult those who have a different opinion.. Lol

My son has Down syndrome and cerebral palsy and I can assure you sir, that he gets more out of life in a day than you ever will in your lifetime.

Trash like this is why I stopped posting.

You need to consider the source, bar none one of the worst posters to ever post on this board. Don't let ill informed jabronis like him keep you from posting.

Not once has any of his "assessments" been correct, it's almost impressive to be wrong each and every time he posts.

[TheTruth316]

My assessment is accurate. He lacks that zeal, determination to dominate. His long arms seemed to affect davis on some shots.

It's sad that you live in such a mentally disabled state of life that you need to insult those who have a different opinion.. Ljol

Look, get in a pissing match all you want, but the bolded is entirely out of bounds and inappropriate. Grow up.

So calling people douchebags and other posters even worse comments are ok?

My intention was to explain to this poster that verbal bullying is not acceptable. Discuss things with out name calling.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Nobody has really mentioned what truly makes Williams potentially the steal of the draft. His hops are great and his shot blocking has been elite in limited minutes. But it is his defensive versatility that is so unique. Once he learns where to be and how to play team defense, he can be KG like as a help defender and flashing 3 pt. shooters. He really looks like a legit difference maker on defense.

Those are the questions for me - how smart can he get defensively in his reactions, and can he defend out to the perimeter. I have Bamba and Jackson ahead of him in those respects right now, because they're a year younger, and look more agile - but Williams could viably pass them in both categories. It's very early for all of them, the book on each of them should change. The initial hype on Towns, remember, talked about how coachable he was, how he'd improve defensively, and no talk about him being "soft." And at this point in Okafor's career, he was putting up points without a huge sample of plus-minus or a belief he was a lost cause defensively.

If I remember right, there were a few preseason games where Williams got switched out on perimeter players and did a great job staying with them. He was quick laterally, and if he backed off them he could still get up and contest/block jumpers with his insane quickness & winspan. I forget which game it was and when, but I remember talking about it afterwards and being excited about that potential.

That’s the dream, yeah, to be able to switch and then turn back towards the rim and block shots from behind. But he’s very young and raw, and I’d guess the last 6 months are the first good teaching and dedicated work he’s ever had. Upside can come with pressure, hype can breed complacency - the best thing is for him to keep working at getting fundamentals drilled down so they’re automatic, and build from there.

[Roddy]

My assessment is accurate. He lacks that zeal, determination to dominate. His long arms seemed to affect davis on some shots.

It's sad that you live in such a mentally disabled state of life that you need to insult those who have a different opinion.. Ljol

Look, get in a pissing match all you want, but the bolded is entirely out of bounds and inappropriate. Grow up.

So calling people douchebags and other posters even worse comments are ok?

My intention was to explain to this poster that verbal bullying is not acceptable. Discuss things with out name calling.

[sam_I_am]

Those are the questions for me - how smart can he get defensively in his reactions, and can he defend out to the perimeter. I have Bamba and Jackson ahead of him in those respects right now, because they're a year younger, and look more agile - but Williams could viably pass them in both categories. It's very early for all of them, the book on each of them should change. The initial hype on Towns, remember, talked about how coachable he was, how he'd improve defensively, and no talk about him being "soft." And at this point in Okafor's career, he was putting up points without a huge sample of plus-minus or a belief he was a lost cause defensively.

If I remember right, there were a few preseason games where Williams got switched out on perimeter players and did a great job staying with them. He was quick laterally, and if he backed off them he could still get up and contest/block jumpers with his insane quickness & winspan. I forget which game it was and when, but I remember talking about it afterwards and being excited about that potential.

That’s the dream, yeah, to be able to switch and then turn back towards the rim and block shots from behind. But he’s very young and raw, and I’d guess the last 6 months are the first good teaching and dedicated work he’s ever had. Upside can come with pressure, hype can breed complacency - the best thing is for him to keep working at getting fundamentals drilled down so they’re automatic, and build from there.

I think he has already shown he can be a difference maker in that role. His size, length, quickness, agility and his hops give him the talent to be a defenseive player of the year candidate. Even if he trips up or gets out of position he can cover so much territory and he has the talent to recover and still alter shots. It’s all about learning Brad’s system and being where he is supposed to be when he is supposed to be there and communicating with his teammates. The last part - communication - seems to be a strength and his teammates genuinely enjoyed playing with him last game. It really comes down to how badly he wants it and his health.

Hard to believe we drafted a guy like this at 27. He’s a real ace in the hole. I am not expecting it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is a factor in the playoffs this year.

[Andrew McCeltic]

The issue with Williams is mostly whether he can execute consistently and make the right decisions on defense - one-on-one defense is usually easier for bigs, getting blocks is usually easy for guys who can block shots, but being smart and error-free playing team defense against a structured offense is the hardest thing to learn. Marc Gasol took a few years to reach DPOY level with his anticipation and positioning.. Andre Drummond, although he’s only 26, is still struggling to get the details right. Williams is lucky to have good coaches and good teammates. He does have enough impact that he can recover from his mistakes, but that doesn’t mean the goal shouldn’t be not making them.

He’s got great “tools”, like Brown or Tatum, but he isn’t a savant like Smart where not just his decisions but his instincts are correct, where he defends like a ten-year veteran on day one.