Robert Williams, aka "Timelord"

[MSTRJMES]

Rob needs to shoot 500 top of the key threes a day….

[Fencer reregistered]

If Timelord had a jumper I would put him in conversation for top 7 Center in the league. (When Healthy)

But even without a jumper last season he was top 10 in the NBA in PER, Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, TS%, FG%, Rebounding %, Blocks % and BPM.

This season he's no. 1 in TS%, no. 1 in FG%, tied for 19th in PER, 22nd in rebounding %, no. 2 in blocks %, 17th in BPM, 11th in Win Shares, 8th in Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, No. 2 in offensive rating (excluding random dudes who have only played in like 1 game)

Gobert
Jokic
Towns
Ayton
Embiid
Bam
Vucevic
Allen

would all be consensus ranked ahead of Rob. Ditto whichever of Davis, Sabonis or Giannis -- if any -- you want to include in the discussion.

So he's not quite in the top 7 discussion yet. But he's close.

[Larry_Russell]

If Timelord had a jumper I would put him in conversation for top 7 Center in the league. (When Healthy)

But even without a jumper last season he was top 10 in the NBA in PER, Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, TS%, FG%, Rebounding %, Blocks % and BPM.

This season he's no. 1 in TS%, no. 1 in FG%, tied for 19th in PER, 22nd in rebounding %, no. 2 in blocks %, 17th in BPM, 11th in Win Shares, 8th in Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, No. 2 in offensive rating (excluding random dudes who have only played in like 1 game)

Gobert
Jokic
Towns
Ayton
Embiid
Bam
Vucevic
Allen

would all be consensus ranked ahead of Rob. Ditto whichever of Davis, Sabonis or Giannis -- if any -- you want to include in the discussion.

So he's not quite in the top 7 discussion yet. But he's close.

Agreed.

Gets a consistant jumper and he moves up.

[Hal14]

But even without a jumper last season he was top 10 in the NBA in PER, Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, TS%, FG%, Rebounding %, Blocks % and BPM.

This season he's no. 1 in TS%, no. 1 in FG%, tied for 19th in PER, 22nd in rebounding %, no. 2 in blocks %, 17th in BPM, 11th in Win Shares, 8th in Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, No. 2 in offensive rating (excluding random dudes who have only played in like 1 game)

Gobert
Jokic
Towns
Ayton
Embiid
Bam
Vucevic
Allen

would all be consensus ranked ahead of Rob. Ditto whichever of Davis, Sabonis or Giannis -- if any -- you want to include in the discussion.

So he's not quite in the top 7 discussion yet. But he's close.

Agreed.

Gets a consistant jumper and he moves up.

Jarrett Allen has a consistent jumper?

What does Allen do better than Rob?

Rob is better than Allen IMO and he's right there in the same tier with Ayton and Vucevic (when healthy, of course). Ayton isn't much of a shooter - pretty good in the 10-12 FT range but beyond that very hit or miss. Vucevic can shoot but is awful defensively.

Edit: Allen vs Rob is actually pretty close. So far this season, Allen has a slightly higher BPM, VORP, rebounding %, Win Shares and PER. Rob has a higher net rating (+39 to +31), TS% and blocks %. Both have exact same assist %, however Allen's usage % is way higher than Rob's so clearly Rob is a better passer..

If you look at last season though, I think Rob was better in pretty much every category..

[Larry_Russell]

Gobert
Jokic
Towns
Ayton
Embiid
Bam
Vucevic
Allen

would all be consensus ranked ahead of Rob. Ditto whichever of Davis, Sabonis or Giannis -- if any -- you want to include in the discussion.

So he's not quite in the top 7 discussion yet. But he's close.

Agreed.

Gets a consistant jumper and he moves up.

Jarrett Allen has a consistent jumper?

What does Allen do better than Rob?

Rob is better than Allen IMO and he's right there in the same tier with Ayton and Vucevic (when healthy, of course). Ayton isn't much of a shooter - pretty good in the 10-12 FT range but beyond that very hit or miss. Vucevic can shoot but is awful defensively.

Embiid
Jokic
Kat
Gobert
Bam

All clearly ahead of Rob

I have:
Allen 17ppg, 11rpg, 2apg, 1spg, 2bpg
Vooch 16ppg, 11.5rpg, 3.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg
Ayton 17ppg, 11rpg, 1.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg
As ahead of Timelord as well

Arguable
Jonas - not as good a defender, far superior offensively
KP - when the lone star
Davis - When playing center
Sabonis - When playing center

[playa-hater]

Gobert
Jokic
Towns
Ayton
Embiid
Bam
Vucevic
Allen

would all be consensus ranked ahead of Rob. Ditto whichever of Davis, Sabonis or Giannis -- if any -- you want to include in the discussion.

So he's not quite in the top 7 discussion yet. But he's close.

Agreed.

Gets a consistant jumper and he moves up.

Jarrett Allen has a consistent jumper?

What does Allen do better than Rob?

Rob is better than Allen IMO and he's right there in the same tier with Ayton and Vucevic (when healthy, of course). Ayton isn't much of a shooter - pretty good in the 10-12 FT range but beyond that very hit or miss. Vucevic can shoot but is awful defensively.

Edit: Allen vs Rob is actually pretty close. So far this season, Allen has a slightly higher BPM, VORP, rebounding %, Win Shares and PER. Rob has a higher net rating (+39 to +31), TS% and blocks %. Both have exact same assist %, however Allen's usage % is way higher than Rob's so clearly Rob is a better passer..

If you look at last season though, I think Rob was better in pretty much every category..

definitely agree with post.

I take Rob > Allen and Vuc. Vuc is a better scorer/shooter, but what RW does for Boston is far more valuable than what Vuc would do for us. Vuc would probably spread the court which would help, but RW "vertical spacing is criminally underrated. and his interior and sometimes perimeter shot-blocking >>> Vuc and Allen. A healthy consistent RW = to Bam as well. What jumper does Bam have??

[playa-hater]

Agreed.

Gets a consistant jumper and he moves up.

Jarrett Allen has a consistent jumper?

What does Allen do better than Rob?

Rob is better than Allen IMO and he's right there in the same tier with Ayton and Vucevic (when healthy, of course). Ayton isn't much of a shooter - pretty good in the 10-12 FT range but beyond that very hit or miss. Vucevic can shoot but is awful defensively.

Embiid
Jokic
Kat
Gobert
Bam

All clearly ahead of Rob

I have:
Allen 17ppg, 11rpg, 2apg, 1spg, 2bpg
Vooch 16ppg, 11.5rpg, 3.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg
Ayton 17ppg, 11rpg, 1.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg
As ahead of Timelord as well

Arguable
Jonas - not as good a defender, far superior offensively
KP - when the lone star
Davis - When playing center
Sabonis - When playing center

the black bold are the only ones I have as "clear ahead" (plus I have Sabonis) (does Davis count?)

the red bold is more subjective and stats don't mean as much as each player has a different role and supporting cast.

[Larry_Russell]

Jarrett Allen has a consistent jumper?

What does Allen do better than Rob?

Rob is better than Allen IMO and he's right there in the same tier with Ayton and Vucevic (when healthy, of course). Ayton isn't much of a shooter - pretty good in the 10-12 FT range but beyond that very hit or miss. Vucevic can shoot but is awful defensively.

Embiid
Jokic
Kat
Gobert
Bam

All clearly ahead of Rob

I have:
Allen 17ppg, 11rpg, 2apg, 1spg, 2bpg
Vooch 16ppg, 11.5rpg, 3.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg
Ayton 17ppg, 11rpg, 1.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg
As ahead of Timelord as well

Arguable
Jonas - not as good a defender, far superior offensively
KP - when the lone star
Davis - When playing center
Sabonis - When playing center

the black bold are the only ones I have as "clear ahead" (plus I have Sabonis) (does Davis count?)

the red bold is more subjective and stats don't mean as much as each player has a different role and supporting cast.

RE: The Red

I agree

I have them ahead based on health at this point in time, Rob has yet to be proven to be as healthy as those guys are. Looking good so far this year though

[zoyathedestroya]

Per BBRef, Robert Williams is currently the career leader in franchise history in the following categories:
• True Shooting Percentage
• Block Percentage
• Offensive Rating
• Win Shares per 48 Minutes
• Defensive Box Plus/Minus

He's also 2nd in Offensive Rebounding Percentage, 2nd in Blocks per Game, 4th in PER, 4th in Total Rebounding Percentage, 5th in Box Plus/Minus.

[OBisHalJordan]

Is Robert Williams III related to this Robert Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Williams

Since he's Robert Williams III, I wondered if the civil rights leader was his grandfather

[Parliament10]

Is Robert Williams III related to this Robert Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Williams

Since he's Robert Williams III, I wondered if the civil rights leader was his grandfather

I doubt it. Robert Franklin Williams, doesn't appear to be related to Robert Lee Williams, III.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Bumping this after the Chicago game

[Andrew McCeltic]

His defensive rebounding percentage is down, from 20 last year to 17 now - which is closer to his first two seasons. But big drop in defensive rp from 25.6 to 20..

[Andrew McCeltic]

Having a high block percentage with that wingspan and vertical goes a long way, but block percentage is partly a counting stat. He's raising his game as a general defensive presence-

Forsberg January 12, after the Pacers win ( https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/can-celtics-robert-williams-muscle-his-way-all-defense-conversation ) :

It was the best of a solid stretch for Williams. In the six games since Celtics coach Ime Udoka challenged Williams to be more disciplined after a rough outing in Minnesota, Williams has limited opponents to 38.3 percent shooting (36 of 94 overall). That’s a staggering 8.9 percent lower than his opponent’s expected field goal percentage over that span.

“He’s an anchor back there,” Udoka told NBC Sports Boston. “Obviously, rim protects well but he also is guarding on the perimeter, doing a lot of different things. He’s starting to read the game better, offensively and defensively. His growth is crucial for us. But you’re starting to see steps in the consistency, that's the thing I love about him.”

Jaylen talked him up for All-Defense.. if he gets elite, he goes up in the center rankings. Top 7? I'd put him around 10 for now, but it gets grey after the top 4-5 guys.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Having a high block percentage with that wingspan and vertical goes a long way, but block percentage is partly a counting stat. He's raising his game as a general defensive presence-

By definition block percentage is a rate stat not a counting one. It's also the lowest of his career by far (so is his steal %) because like you said he plays much more solid positional defense instead of chasing the highlight play.

His defensive rebounding percentage is down, from 20 last year to 17 now - which is closer to his first two seasons. But big drop in defensive rp from 25.6 to 20..

Generally individual rebounding percentage (especially on the defensive end) are a very poor way to assess someone's rebounding ability. There's so much that go into that beyond just the player's ability (who are the other guys besides him in the lineup, how often is he boxing out versus going after the rebound, etc.). Like I'm absolutely certain that Drummond's defensive rebound percentage blows Adams' out of the water. Yet when Adams is on the floor, year after year, his team rates as both the best offensive and defensive rebounding team in the league whereas Drummond has 6 seasons out of 12 where his team rebounded better defensively with him off the floor. When people loook at Drummond and use him as proof that the NBA is not valuing rebounding anymore it's completely false. Despite the gaudy individual totals, he has never moved the needle in term of team success when it comes to securing opponent's misses (he is elite at offensive rebounding I'll give him that).

I really haven't seen anything to suggest Robert Williams is worse at defensive rebounding this year. Just he is often playing with Smart as his smallest teammate this year and last year we played super small (remember the Pritchard at the 3 lineups we saw at times, I'm really trying not to) so it makes sense that the rest of the team is pitching in more. For what it's worth, according to cleaning the glass, the team gives up 1.8% offensive rebounds more when he's on the floor. That's not a great look except when you see how he is trending (gave up 3.4% more last year and a truly atrocious, like bottom percentile in the league bad, during his first two seasons 8.5% and 6.4% more during his first two years).

Honestly, it might not happen as fast as we'd like but Robert Williams keeps getting better at pretty much everything every year. He is quite literally avering career high across the board in counting stats (points, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) which is to be expected with the increased minutes. Still as these Celtics love to remind us, there's a big difference between expectations and reality.

Looking at efficiency stats :
Career best FG% (74%)
Career best FT% (68%)
Tied career best 3PT FG% (at 0% this one is just for the joke)
Career best eFG% (74%)
Career best TS% (75%)

Defensively it's the first year where he's cut down on the positional mistakes to the point that he's truly consistently good on that end. He's also gone from being constantly in foul trouble to having one of the lowest foul rate among centers. I wish the Celtics would use his playmaking more and would encourage him to try more midrange shots. I know it's not the most analytics friendly shot but if teams had to guard him 10-15 feet from the basket he would get so many more opportunities to slip behind the opposing center and lobs at the rim. It would also unlock his dribble handoffs. Regardless he's well on his way to becoming a special player.

I still can't believe Stevens extended him for less money than Wendell Carter got (and also he has a lower average annual value than Gafford for instance).

[Andrew McCeltic]

Rate stat, sorry, that was sloppy. I meant that gaudy shot blocking doesn't always mean you're having a large net impact or executing well.

Rob's giving away offensive rebounds is likely connected to highlight-chasing, too. I know the difference between rebounding percentage and impact, I just hadn't heard or picked up on anything about Rob's tick down. Lineup size makes sense.

I don't understand why the offense doesn't flow through him more, either. I don't have 20/20 vision watching games, is it a matter of what the defense is giving him, how much his teammates are moving off-ball to receive passes, inconsistency on his part, Ime undervaluing his facilitating, players not getting him the ball to work? Or do defenses sag off him more than usual because he can't shoot *and* he's a lob threat? He could average 4-5 assists, easy.

[darrendaye]

Having a high block percentage with that wingspan and vertical goes a long way, but block percentage is partly a counting stat. He's raising his game as a general defensive presence-

By definition block percentage is a rate stat not a counting one. It's also the lowest of his career by far (so is his steal %) because like you said he plays much more solid positional defense instead of chasing the highlight play.

His defensive rebounding percentage is down, from 20 last year to 17 now - which is closer to his first two seasons. But big drop in defensive rp from 25.6 to 20..

Generally individual rebounding percentage (especially on the defensive end) are a very poor way to assess someone's rebounding ability. There's so much that go into that beyond just the player's ability (who are the other guys besides him in the lineup, how often is he boxing out versus going after the rebound, etc.). Like I'm absolutely certain that Drummond's defensive rebound percentage blows Adams' out of the water. Yet when Adams is on the floor, year after year, his team rates as both the best offensive and defensive rebounding team in the league whereas Drummond has 6 seasons out of 12 where his team rebounded better defensively with him off the floor. When people loook at Drummond and use him as proof that the NBA is not valuing rebounding anymore it's completely false. Despite the gaudy individual totals, he has never moved the needle in term of team success when it comes to securing opponent's misses (he is elite at offensive rebounding I'll give him that).

I really haven't seen anything to suggest Robert Williams is worse at defensive rebounding this year. Just he is often playing with Smart as his smallest teammate this year and last year we played super small (remember the Pritchard at the 3 lineups we saw at times, I'm really trying not to) so it makes sense that the rest of the team is pitching in more. For what it's worth, according to cleaning the glass, the team gives up 1.8% offensive rebounds more when he's on the floor. That's not a great look except when you see how he is trending (gave up 3.4% more last year and a truly atrocious, like bottom percentile in the league bad, during his first two seasons 8.5% and 6.4% more during his first two years).

Honestly, it might not happen as fast as we'd like but Robert Williams keeps getting better at pretty much everything every year. He is quite literally avering career high across the board in counting stats (points, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) which is to be expected with the increased minutes. Still as these Celtics love to remind us, there's a big difference between expectations and reality.

Looking at efficiency stats :
Career best FG% (74%)
Career best FT% (68%)
Tied career best 3PT FG% (at 0% this one is just for the joke)
Career best eFG% (74%)
Career best TS% (75%)

Defensively it's the first year where he's cut down on the positional mistakes to the point that he's truly consistently good on that end. He's also gone from being constantly in foul trouble to having one of the lowest foul rate among centers. I wish the Celtics would use his playmaking more and would encourage him to try more midrange shots. I know it's not the most analytics friendly shot but if teams had to guard him 10-15 feet from the basket he would get so many more opportunities to slip behind the opposing center and lobs at the rim. It would also unlock his dribble handoffs. Regardless he's well on his way to becoming a special player.

I still can't believe Stevens extended him for less money than Wendell Carter got (and also he has a lower average annual value than Gafford for instance).

Great post. Rob is yielding defensive rebounds a night to Tatum, I don't have numbers just observation, but probably one a night on average. Also guarding more on the perimeter with Horford out there likely accounts for some of it too. I'm a stickler, so I will point out that Rob does not play with extended arms as much as he did in previous seasons and it costs him steal opportunities. But he's still a solid producer there for a big as well, just not as elite as I had anticipated. But his increased work and effort level overall makes this somewhat understandable. Seems the shoot Rob shoot clan is growing.

[Theocy]

I really hope they get him to train and better his mid range game. If they don’t he’ll be this athletic freak who will probably peak between the ages of 26 and 28. A better PG who actively tries to get him the ball might push his numbers to something like 16 and 10 next year.

[Joshyjess]

One thing stats don't show is how many shots are altered or even not taken because of RW's presence. Yes, his shot blocking numbers might be down a bit, but a lot of that is explained by the fact that opposing players have learned NOT to take shots when he's near them. Watching him play, it's amazing how many guys run into the paint with an obvious goal of taking a shot, only to quickly run back out, or pass the ball away when they see Rob standing there waiting for them.
His reputation is growing every game, and it's clear to see how many players just don't even bother taking shots against him any more. This is going to greatly alter his number of blocks, but it shouldn't be held against him.

[zoyathedestroya]

Congrats to Robert and his partner for the birth of their second child.