The Time Lord: Welcome Robert Williams!

[TheTruth316]

He is nowhere near ready to be in a regular rotation. Slow to set screens, can make a play on defense but doesn't think ahead and gets beat 70 percent of the time. Looks winded and confused..

Great athlete who needs coaching and time to develop.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Even decent shooting from a lobs/blocks/boards center (not as catchy as "3&D") makes a huge difference.

From what I can tell his spatial awareness is pretty good and improving, on both sides of the ball. Some of the questions there may have been artifacts of college coaching and teammates.

He's a much better rebounder than Ibaka, quick to the ball and able to use his wingspan to tip loose rebounds. He reminds me of John Henson a little physically, except he's strong enough, while still being on the slender/quick side, to hold his position in the paint.

I'm cautiously hugely optimistic - it seems like they've been attending to his motor and work ethic foremost, to the point he's being praised for those things. I'm sure he has weaknesses we'd see if he were starting and playing 35 minutes, but it seems like we got a lottery talent at 27. He's a notch below Ayton, Bagley, Jackson, Bamba and Carter, but not by as much as you'd think for a guy who went outside the top 10. All five are ahead of him offensively - that could theoretically change - but he has the highest block percentage of any of them, in too small a sample size to qualify. His 13.5 percent puts him ahead of Mitchell Robinson's league-leading 9.4 percent.. His rebounding percentage is a tick ahead of Ayton's. They're all different players, and you can see how projecting best-case upside for all of them puts Williams last - Ayton and Bagley have more savant scoring ability, Jackson has elite defensive instincts and already has a better three-point shot, and looks like he can develop as a scorer like Bosh did, Bamba has freakish length, can shoot already, and checks boxes for intelligence and work ethic, and Carter is a savvy, do-everything Al Horford type. So far he looks like he could be the best rebounder in the draft, maybe the best shot-blocker, and within fighting distance on everything else. He's probably not going to wind up with a dozen post moves, but he's young enough that you can't count it out yet.

[cloverleaf]

Robert Williams is going to end up being a decent shooter too. He will end up being capable of spacing the floor. I see flashes of a very young Serge Ibaka. I'd say DeAndre, but Williams is gonna be a better shooter and passer

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Not a bad likely comparison.

[cloverleaf]

He is nowhere near ready to be in a regular rotation. Slow to set screens, can make a play on defense but doesn't think ahead and gets beat 70 percent of the time. Looks winded and confused..

Great athlete who needs coaching and time to develop.

He'll learn faster with a steady diet of some minutes. Say, more than Rozier got as a rookie, but less than Semi did. (Barring continued injuries from the big men ahead of him in the rotation.)

[jfs1000d]

I usually hate rookies.

I have been on this board a long time and have seen the whining about Jajun Johnson, Gerald green, Brandon hunter, Fab Melo and most other binkies of the day.

This kid needs minutes somehow. He is a rebounder, shot blocker and rim runner. He also plays within himself.

We are just loaded at the 5. Maybe pair horford and Williams at the 4/5?


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[3D Chess]

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[ConstableGeneva]

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Some might say he's the (past, present, and) future of the Celtics.

[cloverleaf]

Nice article. Holding AD to 7-17 isn't bad at all.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2018/12/11/robert-williams-anthony-davis-block

[Joshyjess]

What I like about this kid:
- obviously he's a true shot blocker. His mere presence causes guys to alter their shots as well.
- Rebounding. He never seems to give up on a board. He fights for every rebound available.
- His nose for the ball. He just always seems to know where to be, and he's always trying to get involved in the play (so many big men, just sit around waiting for the ball to come to them - he goes after the ball every play)
- His passing. For a big guy, he has a great ability to find open men. Some big guys have the mentality "I get ball, I go for hoop". This kid is always looking for the open guy
- He seems to know his limitations. Not a whole lot of floor time to judge him on this, but he really does seem to play to his strengths, and avoid making a lot of dumb mistakes.
- Great hustle. He makes a lot of effort to run the floor every play

What he needs to work on:
- ball fakes. Too often he gets caught in the air trying to block a shot, and his guy simply passes right around him.
- Shoot more. I love his passing, but he does need to work on actually taking a shot when he has it.
- Outside shooting. In today's game, bigs need to know how to hit outsides shots. They don't even have to be great at it, but just good enough to keep the defense honest. I don't think I've seen him even try anything from more than 10 feet out.
- basketball I.Q. - He's only a rook, but there are quite a few times when he just seems lost out there. Hopefully that will come with more court time.

[JHTruth]

He is nowhere near ready to be in a regular rotation. Slow to set screens, can make a play on defense but doesn't think ahead and gets beat 70 percent of the time. Looks winded and confused..

Great athlete who needs coaching and time to develop.

LOL you're such a doucher when it comes to TimeLord man. Always dogging the kid from day 1. Just take your L and admit you were wrong on the kid. Yes he has some rookie lapses but those will be corrected and he will be a stud..

[JHTruth]

Even decent shooting from a lobs/blocks/boards center (not as catchy as "3&D") makes a huge difference.

From what I can tell his spatial awareness is pretty good and improving, on both sides of the ball. Some of the questions there may have been artifacts of college coaching and teammates.

He's a much better rebounder than Ibaka, quick to the ball and able to use his wingspan to tip loose rebounds. He reminds me of John Henson a little physically, except he's strong enough, while still being on the slender/quick side, to hold his position in the paint.

I'm cautiously hugely optimistic - it seems like they've been attending to his motor and work ethic foremost, to the point he's being praised for those things. I'm sure he has weaknesses we'd see if he were starting and playing 35 minutes, but it seems like we got a lottery talent at 27. He's a notch below Ayton, Bagley, Jackson, Bamba and Carter, but not by as much as you'd think for a guy who went outside the top 10. All five are ahead of him offensively - that could theoretically change - but he has the highest block percentage of any of them, in too small a sample size to qualify. His 13.5 percent puts him ahead of Mitchell Robinson's league-leading 9.4 percent.. His rebounding percentage is a tick ahead of Ayton's. They're all different players, and you can see how projecting best-case upside for all of them puts Williams last - Ayton and Bagley have more savant scoring ability, Jackson has elite defensive instincts and already has a better three-point shot, and looks like he can develop as a scorer like Bosh did, Bamba has freakish length, can shoot already, and checks boxes for intelligence and work ethic, and Carter is a savvy, do-everything Al Horford type. So far he looks like he could be the best rebounder in the draft, maybe the best shot-blocker, and within fighting distance on everything else. He's probably not going to wind up with a dozen post moves, but he's young enough that you can't count it out yet.

So far the NBA versions of this draft's bigs look a lot like their college versions. I expect RW3 to always be a stronger rebounder than Bagley or Jackson and a better shotblocker than Ayton, Bagley and Carter, just like he was in college. He was probably the best defensive player out of all the bigs in this class.

The big question mark was always his offense. I think it's been better than advertised. We'll have to wait and see how he evolves but he has better touch around the basket than I was expecting so far. He can develop passable offense he'll be a top 5 guy in this class easily..

[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.. Lol

[Saint Lazarus]

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

How do you know he lacks determination to dominate from his first game of real action?

[3D Chess]

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

But Williams has a way of making up for his lapses. Just ask his Celtics teammates, who regularly tout Williams’ work ethic months after he started his professional career by missing his very first summer league practice. Or ask the coaches, who consider Williams an enjoyable guy to work with on a daily basis. The big man has a likeable demeanor. Even when he uses the term “****,” one of his favorite words, he does so in a joking fashion with a smile on his face. Williams may laugh more than anyone on the team outside of Guerschon Yabusele.

“He’s always high energy,” Morris said. “He always just plays the right way. He’s a great teammate. Even on the bench he’s into the game. When he’s not playing, he’s a good guy to have around.”

[theman]

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So neither of them did very well?

[Valid]

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So neither of them did very well?

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

[lon3lytoaster]

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So neither of them did very well?

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

Yeahh, more shots than points is a pretty decent sign one would think.

[Edug27]

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

But Williams has a way of making up for his lapses. Just ask his Celtics teammates, who regularly tout Williams’ work ethic months after he started his professional career by missing his very first summer league practice. Or ask the coaches, who consider Williams an enjoyable guy to work with on a daily basis. The big man has a likeable demeanor. Even when he uses the term “****,” one of his favorite words, he does so in a joking fashion with a smile on his face. Williams may laugh more than anyone on the team outside of Guerschon Yabusele.

“He’s always high energy,” Morris said. “He always just plays the right way. He’s a great teammate. Even on the bench he’s into the game. When he’s not playing, he’s a good guy to have around.”

Wait.. so you're assuming his own teammates who are around him 24/7 know more about him than posters on a forum??? You must be a troll.

[sam_I_am]

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.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Yeah, that's a pretty good job by a rookie in his first meaningful minutes against the best big man in the league. Look at the percentages - Williams held him to 41.5 percent shooting, Theis to 61.3 percent with 5 made free throws.