Let's talk Robert Williams

Fencer reregistered · Post #421 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Mon Dec 2, 2019 1:02 am

Cloverleaf's general theme makes sense. The Cs' main chance to be a contender, absent a blockbuster trade, is for Rob Williams to blossom into a good center. This season he would at that point be the starter, which main backup minutes going to Theis or Kanter as made sense for that particular matchup. Kanter might actually start vs. Philly and ... well, against Philly.

Longer term we of course hope that Tacko becomes the main backup center and perhaps more.

5InOfLouisville · Post #422 » by **5InOfLouisville** » Thu Dec 5, 2019 12:49 pm

Timelord is still figuring out how to put it all together, and we don't know if he will get to that next level or not. I liked his potential, but his level of play this year, while not necessarily earth-shattering, continues to exceed my expectations.

He keeps showing bits and pieces. His perimeter defense, is AT TIMES, super impressive. He switches on a jump shooter, sags far enough to prevent the drive and obstruct passing lanes, and STILL recovers to contest or block the jumpshot. He's getting better at staying down and not biting on the pumps.

He also has an uncanny ability, largely from his athletecism and length, to get his hands on rebounds. IMO, he STILL is frequently out of position, but he is getting better. If he masters boxing out, he has a potential to be a monster on the boards. Last night he got 10 boards in limited minutes using mostly athleticism and effort. If he can master the technical side...watch out.

His offense, outside of rim dives, is still raw, although his shot doesn't look broken to me, and we don't really call on him to score. His newfound love of the unnecessary touch pass or tipout has got to go, but he still shows a deft hand at making the right pass for the most part.

So again, I don't know if TL ever becomes an Impact player, but Im rooting for him. He still needs to learn how to play basketball, but there is so much raw potential and notable improvement and I ultimately like what I see, given my admittedly low expectations.

sam_I_am · Post #423 » by **sam_I_am** » Thu Dec 5, 2019 1:32 pm

5InOfLouisville wrote:Timelord is still figuring out how to put it all together, and we don't know if he will get to that next level or not. I liked his potential, but his level of play this year, while not necessarily earth-shattering, continues to exceed my expectations.

He keeps showing bits and pieces. His perimeter defense, is AT TIMES, super impressive. He switches on a jump shooter, sags far enough to prevent the drive and obstruct passing lanes, and STILL recovers to contest or block the jumpshot. He's getting better at staying down and not biting on the pumps.

He also has an uncanny ability, largely from his athletecism and length, to get his hands on rebounds. IMO, he STILL is frequently out of position, but he is getting better. If he masters boxing out, he has a potential to be a monster on the boards. Last night he got 10 boards in limited minutes using mostly athleticism and effort. If he can master the technical side...watch out.

His offense, outside of rim dives, is still raw, although his shot doesn't look broken to me, and we don't really call on him to score. His newfound love of the unnecessary touch pass or tipout has got to go, but he still shows a deft hand at making the right pass for the most part.

So again, I don't know if TL ever becomes an Impact player, but Im rooting for him. He still needs to learn how to play basketball, but there is so much raw potential and notable improvement and I ultimately like what I see, given my admittedly low expectations.

I think he is too talented to fail given that he genuinely seeems committed to the program. However, right now he is too green to be trusted with too many minutes. He makes too many unforced errors and too often makes bad decisions defensively. But he has the talent to do things we haven’t seen since KG in 2008.

Gomes3PC · Post #424 » by **Gomes3PC** » Thu Dec 5, 2019 1:42 pm

He's been at his worst against teams that make him defend off the ball and he has to track complex movement / screens/ switches. Last night I think he shined because Miami actually likes to run things through Bam and Olynyk - when his matchup has the ball I think it simplifies things for him.

His ability to switch and defend is superb when he's locked in like last night. That shotblock of Nunn was unreal timing. He probably is better off being a touch more conservative there and just closing out hard, but it's a general testament to his abilities to defend on the perimeter that he swatted that shot on a talented guard like Nunn.

Post #425 » by **djFan71** » Sat Dec 7, 2019 9:44 am

Gomes3PC wrote:He's been at his worst against teams that make him defend off the ball and he has to track complex movement / screens/ switches. Last night I think he shined because Miami actually likes to run things through Bam and Olynyk - when his matchup has the ball I think it simplifies things for him.

His ability to switch and defend is superb when he's locked in like last night. That shotblock of Nunn was unreal timing. He probably is better off being a touch more conservative there and just closing out hard, but it's a general testament to his abilities to defend on the perimeter that he swatted that shot on a talented guard like Nunn.

Completely agree on the on the ball part. I even half seriously suggested he guard Giannis and nobody else last year in the playoffs to see what happened.

Hopefully he figures the other stuff out as he gets more time. But he's already spectacular if he can just focus on one thing. Also needs to stay on his feet and off the floor more, but that should come with experience

cloverleaf · Post #426 » by **cloverleaf** » Sat Dec 7, 2019 6:28 pm

Centers generally take longest to develop, he just turned 22 in October, had marginal coaching as a schoolboy and in college, was held back in part from a congenital knee issue last season, and so far has all of 552 minutes of NBA experience.

The C's have been blessed in that Theis has been so much healthier and able to complement the other starters for a fast start this year, but if Rob stays healthy and Brad continues to play him enough minutes, I expect he'll be a real force by the playoffs and as long as his health holds up over the next12-14 years. He's displayed all the right team toughness and sacrifice from the start and reportedly has been working very hard to learn as quickly as possible. I think he'll be a natural leader of the type that Perk blossomed into. Though their athletic gifts are different and the game has evolved, I see a lot of Perk's role-player, center-starter in Rob.

GoGreen · Post #427 » by **GoGreen** » Sat Dec 7, 2019 8:37 pm

Im really excited for this team. It's very possible that between Rob, Tatum and Jaylen, we have 3 guys who could lead our starting unit for years down the line. And if Rob doesn't work out, Theis looks to really be proving his worth.

ConstableGeneva · Post #428 » by **ConstableGeneva** » Thu Aug 6, 2020 11:06 pm

Time to crank up the hype machine or Stevens is just being a tease?

Watch on YouTube

zoyathedestroya · Post #429 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Sat Aug 8, 2020 5:58 am

Another good game from him.

Read on Twitter

Ernest · Post #430 » by **Ernest** » Sat Aug 8, 2020 1:43 pm

He looks a lot better recently. He's not jumping out of the gym every time someone throws a shot fake at him.

TommyPointGawd · Post #431 » by **TommyPointGawd** » Sat Aug 8, 2020 2:18 pm

He brings everything that the teams needs. If him can spell Theis it will be huge. His rim protection/running are something the team really needs. And he is a good passer. Hoping he can put it together. Brad is doing a good job of making him earn his minutes and building off of success. Let's hope he keeps up this trajectory.

zoyathedestroya · Post #432 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Sat Aug 8, 2020 7:46 pm

Read on Twitter

zoyathedestroya · Post #433 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 10:45 am

Watch on YouTube

Joshyjess · Post #434 » by **Joshyjess** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:04 pm

I love seeing the small steps RW is taking. Rather than trying to "get it all at once", he seems to have learned the importance of improving small things, and being consistent in what he does best. He might not be ready for the big minutes this season, but he is showing that the little time he is given, he is going to be a great addition. Hopefuly by next season he will be ready for true starter like minutes.

themoneyteam2 · Post #435 » by **themoneyteam2** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 4:24 am

Read on Twitter

Good illustration of the jump and consistency he’s making

Post #436 » by **ParticleMan** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 2:26 pm

the main thing is he's cutting way down on defensive mistakes. he has maybe only one facepalm defensive move out there per game, instead of like one every couple of minutes. more than anything i think that's the reason for his uptick in meaningful minutes.

can't wait for this guy to get a brandon bass 15 footer. he has the form, just needs confidence and consistency.

Fantaxp7 · Post #437 » by **Fantaxp7** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:20 pm

Very happy to see what he's doing and I think this is building off of what we saw pre-injury earlier this season. It's so encouraging seeing him play even better.

hugepatsfan · Post #438 » by **hugepatsfan** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 1:21 pm

You can see the growth in how he rotates on defense. Seems to be doing a much better job of not always chasing blocks. That's key in our switching scheme. You see the blocks with Theis - you don't have to chase them, they'll come to you within the scheme. Especially a guy like Rob who's so gifted athletically.

And then on offense he's just picking his spots. Looks like he's passing well within the confines of the offense and just finishing what's there for him. Just with the offensive skill we have, it'd be surprising if he's ever a focal point player here, irregardless of how much he develops. I'd just be surprised if we ever get to a point where we're taking the ball out of Tatum/Brown/Hayward/Kemba's hands to give it to Rob. So he's got to accept a defined role offensively and excel in it, at least for the foreseeable future. He seems to be doing that.

nasbahceltic · Post #439 » by **nasbahceltic** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 1:24 pm

https://dcs.megaphone.fm/ESP6511560161.mp3?key=46db0bbecf6695e74fa0e33dbb3dff7a

at the 1:04:34 mark Zach Lowe goes into the Boston - Toronto matchup and goes into detail about the potential impact of Lobert. he goes as far to call him the Michael Porter Jr. of the East in terms of impact. Really good listen from one the most respected voices in bball

jdm_dc_fan · Post #440 » by **jdm_dc_fan** » Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:23 am

As we all know we don’t have a real answer for Embiid. I say brad gives time lord 15mpg this series for his defense. He’s earned it with his game play in the bubble.