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Let's talk Robert Williams

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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#461 » by SMTBSI » Sun Aug 16, 2020 10:45 pm

PtruthP34 wrote:A Smart, Langford, Brown, Tatum, Williams lineup in a few years should be absolutely lethal.

I love me some Marcus Smart. But I really think he's a career backup. Not due to talent, but due to his ability to backup 1-3. It just makes the challenge of team building so much easier when you have a guy with that kind of versatility. And, he's still gonna play starters minutes, and he's still gonna play at the end of games, so there should be no misunderstanding about how important he is. It's just a gigantic advantage to play him off the bench, which you lose if you need him to be your full-time PG.

Also, not gonna lie, but the shooting on that five-man group doesn't inspire me with confidence. Smart likely is what he is at this point, Langford may get there, but shooting has never been his strength, so I'm not comfortable betting everything on it, and Timelord... well, I'll just say it would be a heck of a windfall if he starts hitting the three with regularity.

I'm not saying they couldn't all be key parts of a youth-driven banner 18, I just think the composition needs to be a little different.

??? / Smart
Brown / Langford
???
Tatum
Williams / ???

Hypothetically, if we can solve one of those question marks this draft, and solve another selling Hayward, we could be on to something.


Edit: Of course, then your bench suffers from the same shooting woes I just talked about. Where's Olynyk when you need him?
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#462 » by zoyathedestroya » Sun Aug 16, 2020 11:57 pm

Danny Ainge blew it big time. :D

Malcolm Brogdon / Monte Morris
Jaylen Brown / Marcus Smart
Jayson Tatum / Sekou Doumbouya / Darius Bazley
Pascal Siakam / Michael Porter Jr. / Brandon Clarke
Mitchell Robinson / Bol Bol

Gonna post this on every thread btw.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#463 » by PtruthP34 » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:47 am

SMTBSI wrote:
PtruthP34 wrote:A Smart, Langford, Brown, Tatum, Williams lineup in a few years should be absolutely lethal.

I love me some Marcus Smart. But I really think he's a career backup. Not due to talent, but due to his ability to backup 1-3. It just makes the challenge of team building so much easier when you have a guy with that kind of versatility. And, he's still gonna play starters minutes, and he's still gonna play at the end of games, so there should be no misunderstanding about how important he is. It's just a gigantic advantage to play him off the bench, which you lose if you need him to be your full-time PG.

Also, not gonna lie, but the shooting on that five-man group doesn't inspire me with confidence. Smart likely is what he is at this point, Langford may get there, but shooting has never been his strength, so I'm not comfortable betting everything on it, and Timelord... well, I'll just say it would be a heck of a windfall if he starts hitting the three with regularity.

I'm not saying they couldn't all be key parts of a youth-driven banner 18, I just think the composition needs to be a little different.

??? / Smart
Brown / Langford
???
Tatum
Williams / ???

Hypothetically, if we can solve one of those question marks this draft, and solve another selling Hayward, we could be on to something.


Edit: Of course, then your bench suffers from the same shooting woes I just talked about. Where's Olynyk when you need him?


Agreed, in general. I’m mostly salivating over the defensive domination.... that lineup should hold teams to 80 ppg. I do think Romeo gets there as a shooter and overall scorer.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#464 » by Ernest » Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:56 am

SMTBSI wrote:
PtruthP34 wrote:A Smart, Langford, Brown, Tatum, Williams lineup in a few years should be absolutely lethal.

I love me some Marcus Smart. But I really think he's a career backup. Not due to talent, but due to his ability to backup 1-3. It just makes the challenge of team building so much easier when you have a guy with that kind of versatility. And, he's still gonna play starters minutes, and he's still gonna play at the end of games, so there should be no misunderstanding about how important he is. It's just a gigantic advantage to play him off the bench, which you lose if you need him to be your full-time PG.


And yet we seem to get off to slow starts and play bad for 5 minutes until he gets in the game a lot. IMO he deserves the start but so does Walker. We have a lot of talent, we just got to hope that Smart never gets upset over not starting and leaves. If push came to shove and he wanted to start or be traded, I'm prefer to trade Walker and let Smart start.

The other thing with Smart is how well he can improve. Remember his free throw shooting a few years ago? Hack-a-Smart? He got better. Remember people saying he couldn't pass? Couldn't run the offense? Took bad shots? My point is that besides ELITE D he has improved all areas of his game and I see no reason he will stop.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#465 » by ParticleMan » Mon Aug 17, 2020 7:26 am

to be honest i think our current team relies too much on outside shooting. we need more inside/out balance. i love that JB has become a much better 3 pt shooter but he doesn't drive as much now. smart can drive but he does it mostly to pass, and he needs a guy like TL to provide that roll threat; theis is ok but not great. i'm hoping romeo can be a guy who can finish towards the rim with regularity, eventually. but long-term we still need a replacement for kemba, i'm not sold that smart is it.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#466 » by 24istheLAW » Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:10 pm

ParticleMan wrote:to be honest i think our current team relies too much on outside shooting. we need more inside/out balance. i love that JB has become a much better 3 pt shooter but he doesn't drive as much now. smart can drive but he does it mostly to pass, and he needs a guy like TL to provide that roll threat; theis is ok but not great. i'm hoping romeo can be a guy who can finish towards the rim with regularity, eventually. but long-term we still need a replacement for kemba, i'm not sold that smart is it.


Tatum in 2018-2019:
5.6 drives/game
3.1 pts/game on drives, 0.5 assists/game on drives, 0.5 turnovers/game
.220 FTr overall

Tatum in 2019-2020:
10.8 drives/game
7.9 pts/game on drives, 0.6 assists/game on drives, 0.6 turnovers/game
.255 FTr overall

Jayson is the one who has made a quantum leap here per NBA.com tracking. Almost doubled his volume, more than doubled his points, and had a very slight increase in turnovers.

Brown in 2018-2019:
5.1 drives/game
3.1 pts/game on drives, 0.3 assists/game on drives, 0.3 turnovers/game
.255 FTr overall

Brown in 2019-2020:
8.5 drives/game
5.3 pts/game on drives, 0.5 assists/game on drives, 0.6 turnovers/game
.274 FTr overall

I think if you weight that change in drives/game against some how many more touches or FGA he had you find that he is driving slightly more this season, but its close enough. The change in FTr was worth including - one suggestion that he's choosing spots better.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#467 » by Floody100 » Mon Aug 31, 2020 12:19 pm

Random question, he’s listed 6’8 but surely he’s taller than that ?
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#468 » by 31to6 » Mon Aug 31, 2020 2:11 pm

Tantalizing
Paul Pierce appreciation society.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#469 » by Roland2000 » Mon Aug 31, 2020 2:18 pm

As I watched the game last night and was contemplating Robert Williams, I realized that this whole "Bubble" situation might be the best type of situation for him and for young players in general. No travel, limited social options, limited distractions in general. This has given him not much to do other than simply focus on basketball.

I am very glad that Stevens is giving him minutes. We will need him going forward, especially with Hayward out. Timelord needs to get into a rhythm and condition. I truly believe that he will become one of the better players in the league once he puts it all together.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#470 » by nic4747 » Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:00 pm

I was very happy to see quality minutes from the timelord in Game 1 yesterday. The fact that he's able to influence a playoff game at all is huge and in this series in particular, he is critical because he's our answer to Ibaka.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#471 » by Scoonie » Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:05 pm

Floody100 wrote:Random question, he’s listed 6’8 but surely he’s taller than that ?


He definitely looks taller than 6'8 and he was listed at 6"10 in college.

Measured at 6’10 in shoes with a tremendous 240-pound frame and a 7’5.5 wingspan last fall. Has prototypical dimensions for a modern NBA center to go along with great feet and impressive leaping ability.


https://www.nba.com/draft/2018/prospects/robert_williams#/

What the NBA started doing this season is listing the players without shoes on, where historically it's always been their heights with shoes on. Timelord is likely somewhere between 6'8 and 6'9 without shoes on.
Dogen wrote:Celtics win despite Smart having -1 points for the game.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#472 » by ConstableGeneva » Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:53 pm

Floody100 wrote:Random question, he’s listed 6’8 but surely he’s taller than that ?

Theis is 6'8" too, so Timelord may be the same?

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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#473 » by FlatearthZorro » Mon Aug 31, 2020 6:03 pm

Floody100 wrote:Random question, he’s listed 6’8 but surely he’s taller than that ?


He's 6'9 and a half from what I know. His wingspan and standing reach are freakish tho.

EDIT: Or maybe he isn't. Just saw Constable's photo..
Good assessment:

PLO wrote:Tatum played OK - took advantage of a few mismatches - decent on the defensive end. He is what we thought he was going into the season - a technically very proficient player operating close to his career ceiling as a rookie.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#474 » by Roland2000 » Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:23 pm

Another great thing about the situation is that he plays behind Theis. If he wants to start (which they all do) then he needs to be better than Theis. So that's where the bar is set. I bet he starts in the middle of next season.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#475 » by SMTBSI » Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:38 pm

Gotta remember that all these measurements are without shoes now. A lot of guys lost 2 inches overnight. 6'8" is no longer strange for a center.

A few years ago, if you had a 6'10" center (a la Perkins), you may have wished he had another inch or two, but you wouldn't have thought he was fatally undersized.

Well, that same thing is now the case for 6'8". A bit shorter than ideal, but only a bit.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#476 » by LewisnotMiller » Mon Aug 31, 2020 11:53 pm

FlatearthZorro wrote:
Floody100 wrote:Random question, he’s listed 6’8 but surely he’s taller than that ?


He's 6'9 and a half from what I know. His wingspan and standing reach are freakish tho.

EDIT: Or maybe he isn't. Just saw Constable's photo..


Photos are deceptive sometimes. But you're bang on the money with his reach. Crazy long.
Combine that with the leaping, and he's fine against almost everyone.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#477 » by LewisnotMiller » Mon Aug 31, 2020 11:56 pm

Theis is great starting with our perimeter stars because he doesn't try to do too much.
He sets a ton of screens, often at clever angles, and he has a knack for staying out of the way. Tick that 3pt shot up a couple of points and he's a great fit with the starters.

Those same screens are more wasted playing with a bench unit who won't have as much ability to take advantage of a crease.

So I'd stick with Theis as starter, simply because it makes a more cohesive unit in my opinion. Williams should get all the minutes he can earn though.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#478 » by GregB » Tue Sep 1, 2020 12:53 am

nic4747 wrote:I was very happy to see quality minutes from the timelord in Game 1 yesterday. The fact that he's able to influence a playoff game at all is huge and in this series in particular, he is critical because he's our answer to Ibaka.


I was happy as well and I expected it. Rob was just a bad matchup against Philly due to their size and strength.

But Robert Williams is a matchup nightmare for Ibaka. Has the foot speed to guard him on the perimeter and to recover and handle him inside. They really don’t have anyone to counter him. Gasol can use his size against him inside but he is a shell of himself and much less effective these days. Williams and Theis should feast all series.
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#479 » by sam_I_am » Tue Sep 1, 2020 5:59 pm

SMTBSI wrote:
PtruthP34 wrote:A Smart, Langford, Brown, Tatum, Williams lineup in a few years should be absolutely lethal.

I love me some Marcus Smart. But I really think he's a career backup. Not due to talent, but due to his ability to backup 1-3. It just makes the challenge of team building so much easier when you have a guy with that kind of versatility. And, he's still gonna play starters minutes, and he's still gonna play at the end of games, so there should be no misunderstanding about how important he is. It's just a gigantic advantage to play him off the bench, which you lose if you need him to be your full-time PG.

Also, not gonna lie, but the shooting on that five-man group doesn't inspire me with confidence. Smart likely is what he is at this point, Langford may get there, but shooting has never been his strength, so I'm not comfortable betting everything on it, and Timelord... well, I'll just say it would be a heck of a windfall if he starts hitting the three with regularity.

I'm not saying they couldn't all be key parts of a youth-driven banner 18, I just think the composition needs to be a little different.

??? / Smart
Brown / Langford
???
Tatum
Williams / ???

Hypothetically, if we can solve one of those question marks this draft, and solve another selling Hayward, we could be on to something.


Edit: Of course, then your bench suffers from the same shooting woes I just talked about. Where's Olynyk when you need him?


Smart is such an interesting player. He has such a high BBIQ but sometimes he just lacks the skill necessary to cash in - whether it be a thread the needle pass that gets picked off, an attempt to attack the rim that falls short, or a dagger 3 that clangs of rim - there are times he doesn’t quite deliver. On the other hand, he has an amazing ability to dial up his intensity and competitive fire and will his team back into a game. Yet sometimes, that intensity gets the best of him leading to unnecessary technical fouls or overzealous shot attempts. You want him to play as intelligently as he is able but at other times he needs reckless energy to be at his best. So much like Larry Bird in that he is a coach on the floor and willing to run through a brick wall in order to win but without that killer touch on his outside shot. If he can continue to get better as a shooter though and find that sweet spot between fierceness and controlled play, he is going to become even more special.

Right now, we just don’t know what we’ll get tonight. The effort and BBIQ will be there for sure. We’ve seen superstar performances like game 1 before but can he keep it up or will he have another 2-9 shooting night? And if he has a 2-9 start will he make the huge 3 to rally the team anyway? I can’t wait to watch and find out!
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Re: Let's talk Robert Williams 

Post#480 » by 31to6 » Wed Sep 2, 2020 1:06 am

VERY tantalizing
Paul Pierce appreciation society.

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