Let's talk Robert Williams

[cloverleaf]

Can we wait and see if he finishes the season healthy first?

IIRC when he was drafted they said his congenital condition could be operated on if that proved necessary, but at this point they weren't thinking it was. (And they clearly they have otherwise focused on strengthening his vulnerable joints.)

So I would guess that even if he were not to make it through the season, that'd probably just lead to the surgery in the offseason that they had decided wasn't necessary at the time two years ago.

[ballup]

I think what's impressed me these past couple of games is his patience in the dunkers spot. Despite having super leaping ability, he does a great job at being under control with the pump fakes into pivoting for an advantageous angle.

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[Fencer reregistered]

Underappreciated point: Playing with Rob is surely fun.

[TommyForever]

Not sure it got mentioned in this thread but RW was invited to the green room on draft night. He stayed home and people thought he lacked character when staying home and enjoying the moment with your whole family and friends is character.

[cloverleaf]

Not sure it got mentioned in this thread but RW was invited to the green room on draft night. He stayed home and people thought he lacked character when staying home and enjoying the moment with your whole family and friends is character.

A recollection from his high school coach:


Meikle remembered one day the team was going to pick up trash from a local street as a part of a day dedicated to community service. There was no media or anybody else, except for the team, scheduled to be there. Meikle said Williams was the one responsible for organizing the event and making sure his teammates participated.

“He got everybody up,” Meikle said. “We started at 8 o’ clock in the morning. … Robert made sure everybody got out of bed. He and his mom went around, and, if anybody didn’t have a ride to meet us at school, he made sure everybody got there. Some of the things that people do in high school get overlooked as they get older, but that kind of set the tone. He really has a great heart.”... Meikle said the Celtics are getting “a guy that is going to be the greatest teammate they could ever want.”

“He’s going to do whatever it takes,” he said. “Whatever the coach asks him to do, he’ll do it.”

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2018/07/12/celtics-robert-williams-high-school-coach

He also, in movingbto Boston after his post-draft oversleeping/missing his flight glitch, rented an apartment directly across the street from their practice facility to make sure he wouldn't be late to anything again.

[Fencer reregistered]

Not sure it got mentioned in this thread but RW was invited to the green room on draft night. He stayed home and people thought he lacked character when staying home and enjoying the moment with your whole family and friends is character.

A recollection from his high school coach:


Meikle remembered one day the team was going to pick up trash from a local street as a part of a day dedicated to community service. There was no media or anybody else, except for the team, scheduled to be there. Meikle said Williams was the one responsible for organizing the event and making sure his teammates participated.

“He got everybody up,” Meikle said. “We started at 8 o’ clock in the morning. … Robert made sure everybody got out of bed. He and his mom went around, and, if anybody didn’t have a ride to meet us at school, he made sure everybody got there. Some of the things that people do in high school get overlooked as they get older, but that kind of set the tone. He really has a great heart.”... Meikle said the Celtics are getting “a guy that is going to be the greatest teammate they could ever want.”

“He’s going to do whatever it takes,” he said. “Whatever the coach asks him to do, he’ll do it.”

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2018/07/12/celtics-robert-williams-high-school-coach

He also, in movingbto Boston after his post-draft oversleeping/missing his flight glitch, rented an apartment directly across the street from their practice facility to make sure he wouldn't be late to anything again.

He seems to be living up to that article.

[JHTruth]

Rob is 5th in the league in PER. 3rd in WS/48. Top 5 in BPM. Literally putting up MVP level impact and just getting started. Crazy what he could be in his prime.

[Gomes3PC]

Really impressed to see his impact sustaining (1) over a longer stretch, (2) with more minutes, and (3) with more high leverage minutes.

It's clear the offense is just at a different level with him there. His dives collapse defenders on its own, he gets 2nd chance boards, he's an elite finisher, and most important, he plays decisively. He's never wandering with the ball - always looking, finding a cutter, setting up a DHO, trying to get others engaged.

He's not Horford but his vision is on the way to something like that. He needs to develop the craftiness that Al had on screens, picks, etc. But he's so much farther along than I could have guessed.

As disappointed as I am Kemba hasn't been the guy we hoped for, Robert's ascendance almost entirely seems to be offsetting that.

[jumblin]

I think the way he's played so far kind of confirms the theory that Ainge salary dumped Theis to force Brad to play RW3

This forum has spend the last 2 years proclaiming Daniel Theis is one of the best centers in the NBA.

Good to see someone with actual elite NBA talent finally getting the praise instead of a G-Leaguer.

[zoyathedestroya]

List of starters this season averaging a double-double and 2+ blocks per game: Gobert, Capela, Timelord. End of list.

Williams the only one averaging 4+ assists per game OR 1+ steals per game. Doing it in 27.3 mpg.

Need more reps esp against tougher matchups and enough sample size but we may have a unicorn.

[Fencer reregistered]

List of starters this season averaging a double-double and 2+ blocks per game: Gobert, Capela, Timelord. End of list.

Williams the only one averaging 4+ assists per game OR 1+ steals per game. Doing it in 27.3 mpg.

Need more reps esp against tougher matchups and enough sample size but we may have a unicorn.

More like a pegasus.

[zoyathedestroya]

List of starters this season averaging a double-double and 2+ blocks per game: Gobert, Capela, Timelord. End of list.

Williams the only one averaging 4+ assists per game OR 1+ steals per game. Doing it in 27.3 mpg.

Need more reps esp against tougher matchups and enough sample size but we may have a unicorn.

More like a pegasus.

Your fault for giving me flashbacks to this...



(I believe this is titled Kelly Olynyk Unicorn Pegasus SexyTime.)

[1st banana]

I can’t get enough of timelords super nova ascension. He’s been so unbelievably incredible and only improving I keep thinking about what his actual ceiling is. Uber athletic al Horford? Much better passing Ben Wallace? Just a flat out better deandre or a prime Blake Griffin?

He’s having a borderline Tatum level impact on games and his energy is so good for the team. Clearly all of those “character flaws” were a bunch of draft malarkey bull dude is a flat out class act.

[Spin Move]

Per 36 Minutes
Stat TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Player A 7.5 1.2 1.0 4.0 1.7 4.1 14.7
Player B 13.4 3.4 1.7 3.7 1.9 3.8 15.8

Player A is Myles Turner, Player B is RW

Since the all star Break
MP PTS TRB AST
Turner 30.3 10.8 6.3 1.3
Williams 23.3 10.6 9.0 3.3

Not Bad for the 27th pick in that draft

[Saint Lazarus]

Williams will be better than Bam if he can stay healthy

[Spin Move]

Williams will be better than Bam if he can stay healthy

At rebounding and blocking shots, if he can stay healthy, offensively unlikely they are only few months apart in age. Right now on offense Bam is WAY ahead.

[Fencer reregistered]

Williams will be better than Bam if he can stay healthy

At rebounding and blocking shots, if he can stay healthy, offensively unlikely they are only few months apart in age. Right now on offense Bam is WAY ahead.

Bam will likely always be the better perimeter/midrange isolation scorer of the two, due to better handle. It doesn't follow that he will be the better offensive player. Rob is truly elite at lob finishing, and he's on course to be a very good distributor as well.

If I'm wrong about the handle then Rob has shot at being better than Bam in every way.

[cloverleaf]

Williams will be better than Bam if he can stay healthy

At rebounding and blocking shots, if he can stay healthy, offensively unlikely they are only few months apart in age. Right now on offense Bam is WAY ahead.

I'm not so sure of that. Bam has been healthy and has played and started far more minutes and games. Rob's also only in his third year in the league. Bam has been better featured and used by his coach hand as higher assist numbers from that combination minutes and coaching, but I've seen enough to be convinced Rob is at least Bam's equal in capability there. Already Rob is ahead of Bam by most advanced stats, including on O.

Bam has taken some 3s, but is still a career .159 beyond the arc. Rob's one career attempt from the 3 was a heave, but from the other distances, Rob's career percentages to Bam's are .809 to .723 from 0-3, .563 to .426 from 3-10, .571 to .411 from 10-16, and .294 to .307 (with Bam's edge on that last distance mostly from his higher combined frequency and percentage in this, his 4th season). My guess is that Rob will be stretched out to the 3 by next season, but is not the kind of player to take 3s until or unless he is competent at that distance.

Overall Rob has a career .724 career TS% and hasn't been below .700 in any season, whereas Bam is at .606 in TS% over his four seasons, with this his highest year at .627. I submit that by minutes on an NBA floor Rob is actually at least equal to Bam in assist rate and actually a fair amount ahead on most shooting metrics--just less advantagiously coached in terms of use and usage.

[zoyathedestroya]

Again this is small sample (min 5 games played) but among starting centers, here are Rob's ranks in advanced stats:
• Offensive Rating: 1st
• Net Rating: 1st
• Assist %: 5th
• Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1st
• Assist Ratio: 1st
• Turnover Ratio: 5th
• True Shooting %: 3rd
• Player Impact Estimate: 3rd (behind Embiid and Jokic)

He's been much more impactful on offense than on defense, despite the gaudy raw steals and blocks numbers.

I've already forgotten who Daniel Theis is.

[31to6]

Again this is small sample (min 5 games played) but among starting centers, here are Rob's ranks in advanced stats:
• Offensive Rating: 1st
• Net Rating: 1st
• Assist %: 5th
• Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1st
• Assist Ratio: 1st
• Turnover Ratio: 5th
• True Shooting %: 3rd
• Player Impact Estimate: 3rd (behind Embiid and Jokic)

He's been much more impactful on offense than on defense, despite the gaudy raw steals and blocks numbers.

I've already forgotten who Daniel Theis is.

I *love* all this, no question, and yet find myself wondering: wasn’t Theis putting up crazy advanced stats with us as well (not this year, but last year), and Baynes before that?

Is there something about our team/system that makes whoever our starting C is (through a good stretch) look insanely good in terms of their advanced stats?