Let's talk Robert Williams

[JHTruth]

I don't think it was an accident we had one of our worst games of the year with Timelord out. We really missed having a bouncy athlete like him on the back line to tangle with Randle, Portis and Robinson.

So far, I think he is getting the perfect amount of time. The staff has to resist the urge to yank him if he looks lost at times, but instead use those as coachable moments post-game when they review tape. So far, the good has well outweighed the bad/comical.

Amazingly, Rob has become a big key to our team. I always thought he'd be a good player but he's become our best defensive player. For a 50 win team that's impressive

[Pacino62]

Yup, we have big athletic wings to press up on the perimeter and get in peoples' faces.

Force them to the rim, where our ragtag group of stopgaps hopefully makes finishing at the rim difficult.

Ideally, they are forced into rushed midrange shots.

I have been pleasantly surprised by our interior D so far, and see a lot of potential in Timelord.

That being said, we are still weak in the middle as of now.

I just noticed I’m in your sig. Was that comment directed at you or did I say it to someone else I don’t even recall the conversation.

Haha, it was at me. I forgot i put that in there and only vaguely recall the conversation myself. Im sure i deserved it though. I can be annoying.

Lol. Same here. Funny as hell though. I saw it and was like...why did I say that

[zoyathedestroya]

Rare vision and passing skill for his big man type. Capela, DeAndre, Whiteside, Drummond, etc. don't/can't pass like this.

✔ Can catch lobs and finish within a 5-feet radius of the rim
✔ Can block shots from restricted area and on the perimeter
✔ Can handle the ball a bit and start the break
✔ Can find teammates from anywhere on the floor

His combination of block %, assist %, and TS % right now has never been done in tracked NBA history. Not even close.

Watch on YouTube

[Bostonic33]

Absolutely ridiculous.

[cloverleaf]

Absolutely ridiculous.

And then when he landed solidly on his feet afterwards, he was totally balanced and unfazed by his flight. Ready to go.

[Green89]

Yes, please.

[Ben-N1ce]

It's all positioning for him. Bites on fakes and stuff always wanting to block everything when scaring the guy and altering the type of shot is good enough. He'll learn and hopefully just get better and better. He has good passing instincts. I'll randomly see him make some touch passes and be very impressed. Has really no offensive moves yet though.

[bartunik]

he can have a huge impact for us without any post moves. you want to play to your strengths in the NBA especially as a big. Get to that elite defensive center status first. He's young, countless summers ahead of him to work on offense

[Theocy]

It's all positioning for him. Bites on fakes and stuff always wanting to block everything when scaring the guy and altering the type of shot is good enough. He'll learn and hopefully just get better and better. He has good passing instincts. I'll randomly see him make some touch passes and be very impressed. Has really no offensive moves yet though.

He doesn't have moves because he probably never had to use any to beat down opposing bigs.
He has been way too bouncy to be stopped.

If he gets some post offensive skillset he will be a force to be reckoned with. I expect him to bulk up a bit in the following year and maybe maybe next year we can start talking about a 10+points 10+rebounds per game kind of season.

[Roddy]

Watch on YouTube

I can't stop watching the last play of this video.

Huge block by Rob, no look pass by Wanamaker and nasty dunk by Javonte.

Beautiful fastbreak, this team is exciting to watch.

[Homerclease]

Needs a steady diet of minutes throughout the season. Best way for him to learn is to play. Have to take the bad with the good but if and when this kid truly figures it out, we’ve got a monster on our hands

[LarryBirdsFingr]

It's all positioning for him. Bites on fakes and stuff always wanting to block everything when scaring the guy and altering the type of shot is good enough. He'll learn and hopefully just get better and better. He has good passing instincts. I'll randomly see him make some touch passes and be very impressed. Has really no offensive moves yet though.

He doesn't have moves because he probably never had to use any to beat down opposing bigs.
He has been way too bouncy to be stopped.

If he gets some post offensive skillset he will be a force to be reckoned with. I expect him to bulk up a bit in the following year and maybe maybe next year we can start talking about a 10+points 10+rebounds per game kind of season.

He's already bulked up quite a bit compared to last year. He's super cut up and added a good amount of muscle, reload might be able to comment on the actual numbers but I've heard he's way up on muscle weight

[Andrew McCeltic]

He looked like a lottery talent yesterday. His college stats were right there with Bamba, Ayton, and Jaren Jackson but he drew none of the same hype. I don't know about the "Time Lord" thing but he's got some kind of superpower, his entire presence on court feels like an optical illusion - he looks much taller than 6'9", some of his leaps are so quick it seems like he's moving faster than a person can, and others give the impression he's actually floating through the air..

[cloverleaf]

Needs a steady diet of minutes throughout the season. Best way for him to learn is to play. Have to take the bad with the good but if and when this kid truly figures it out, we’ve got a monster on our hands

Which is why the Kanter injury could have been a blessing in disguise. Were Brad trying to keep his vet bigs happy, Rob likely wouldn't have got even the time has so far--and might not have shown enough to keeping upping Timelord's time diet.

But he's been a difference maker, and there is no way Brad can shuffle him to the back of the bench now.

[cloverleaf]

It's all positioning for him. Bites on fakes and stuff always wanting to block everything when scaring the guy and altering the type of shot is good enough. He'll learn and hopefully just get better and better. He has good passing instincts. I'll randomly see him make some touch passes and be very impressed. Has really no offensive moves yet though.

He doesn't have moves because he probably never had to use any to beat down opposing bigs.
He has been way too bouncy to be stopped.

If he gets some post offensive skillset he will be a force to be reckoned with. I expect him to bulk up a bit in the following year and maybe maybe next year we can start talking about a 10+points 10+rebounds per game kind of season.

As it is he's averaging 13.3/11.7 per 36. That rate would get him to your 10/10 in just a smidge over 30 minutes a game--along with 4+ assists and almost 4 blocks and 2.5 steals. And with a TS% of .760 he doesn't need to take many shots or have any plays run for him to be an offensive threat already in his own way.

[Green89]

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[Gant]

A tale of two good prospects:

Last year when Mitchell Robinson got a lot of playing time on a bad team while Robert Williams mostly sat, I was thinking if they switched uniforms it would be Williams getting the accolades and Robinson stuck on the bench.

Now they both play a bit...

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[Fencer reregistered]

A lot of Williams' (and also Theis') blocks come on plays where the opponents' progress to the rim has been stalled by another Celtic, and the opponent hence tries a shot from however close he managed to get.

In theory, that kind of double-team creates the risk of fakes and dump-offs. In practice I don't recall seeing many examples of that. Am I overlooking something, or are these defensive plays as sound as they seem?

[zoyathedestroya]

Way too early for these comparisons, but who's gonna stop me??



Rob is beat on offensive rebounding, is more foul prone (not a worry), and doesn't get to the line much. That's about it. Everything else is close or he has superior numbers. Check out all the relevant advanced stats -- ORtg, DRtg, PER, TS%, OBPM, DBPM, BPM. Assist %, Steal %, and Block % are bonkers. His are small samples so far (111 minutes hehe) so these are likely to normalize but it's been a very encouraging start for him.

He's currently on pace to approximate the total PT of DAJ on a 2010 Clippers lottery team and Capela on a .500 Rockets team backing up Dwight. Keep giving him reps to hone his timing and defensive positioning.

Numbers aside, he's been a delight to watch. When was the last time we've had this type of big? KG was no longer in his athletic prime when we had him.

[Gant]

Robert Williams vs Al Horford through 7/8 games.

Per 36 minutes:

Points: Al 18, Rob 13.3
Rebounds: Rob 11.7, Al 8.4
FG%: Rob .783, Al .436
3p%: Al .341, Rob hasn't taken one
2p%: Rob .783, Al .487
FT%: Al .632, Rob .536
TS%: Rob .760, Al .511
Assists: Rob 4.5, Al 4.4
Blocks: Rob 5.1, Al 1.8
Steals: Rob 2.6, Al 1.3
PER: Rob 25.5, Al 18.4

Minutes per game: Al 32, Rob 15.9