I posted this is post-game, respectfully adding to this thread too....
It finally occurred to me last night how to succinctly express what people see in Williams' mannerisms that cause concerns about his work ethic. Williams is like the child who knows he's fast, so when his/her friends/classmates get ready to race, rather than explode out of his starting stance, he take a little hop and then explodes into his first step.
You can see him VERY mentally engaged most of the time he is out there. My primary worry about his effort level is on the offensive glass where he isn't showing fight on enough of the opportunities where he has a realistic chance to get in position. He isn't maniacal about going to get the ball. This is opinion and surely subject to some personal bias, because statistically he's getting 1 offensive rebound a game in 9.1 minutes, which is solid. IMO the effort comes and goes. He had big offensive rebound games vs. the Suns and Pels. IMO he had added motivation going against Ayton (whom his collegiate effort against was panned by professional and amateur scouts/talking heads), and of course Anthony Davis.
But this isn't to say that his overall effort is greatly lacking, imo. Certainly has less than full throttle moments, but everyone does, they're not robots. Not yet. Clearly he's a guy who is very physically talented from a quickness, leaping, and body control/grace standpoint. Love his willingness to pass and he sees the floor pretty well already.
With the current state of the team, Smart/Morris starting, Stevens is in a great position (relative to Williams' development, not necessarily team results) to hammer home a "we need an energy guy, here's your shot" strategy with him. Personally I'd like Stevens to discourage some of the lob hunting that goes on when Williams enters the fray. I'd rather he take a, if you want to fill your belly with delicious baskets, you've got to fight to grab the crumbs that fall off the plate approach to focus him on his effort on the offensive glass and put-backs.
I'm rooting for him.