Robert Williams, aka "Timelord"

[Gomes3PC]

So considering his already injury prone reputation. This is something Brad will have to address.

In what way? Trade him for some more durable but less talented player? No thanks. I'd rather be careful with him during the regular season and unleash him the playoffs. Talent trumps consistency in the NBA. And if you mean by shoring up depth, that was the exact purpose of the Theis trade. Of course they should look for more in the offseason but even at 60 games/yr, Rob's deal is a STEAL.

Haha no. I didn't mean trade. Clearly though, his injury resume is a bit concerning. I was thinking more along the lines of a good backup.I love Rob even with all his injuries i wouldnt trade him. Relax.
Theis is a 3rd backup big. We need someone who can step into Rob's role and give us similar production. Theis aint it.

We'll never make that work cap-wise. That guy you are talking about is Al Horford. When you're paying $60M/yr to Tatum+Brown, $20M to Smart, $17 to White and you have Horford's figure, it's almost a miracle we can afford even $8M for Theis as the 3rd big. Only way we can do that is having either street FAs or rookie deals for every other spot on the roster.

Fact is few teams even have 3 functional bigs you can trust in crunch time. That's the dirty secret of 'smallball' - it's mainly to avoid having to play a sucky big as much as it is the spacing you gain. I mean look at Philly - they literally don't have a 2nd useful big on the roster.

[BRUNiNHO91]

The day we took the first seed.

If that's not the basketball Gods way of laughing in our faces once more idk what is.

Hayward in the bubble, Jaylen last year.. Now Rob.

What a joke.

[Feed Your Head]

Doesn't Al have a better defensive rating than Rob or am I making up memories in my head?

I'm devastated about Rob but we still have a very good team regardless.

Yeah I’m actually more worried about offensively than defensively. Teams are so scared of Rob as a lob threat, and he’s so athletic that he still rises over the defenders. The spacing he beings just can’t be replicated as a rim runner, but if Grant and Al are hitting from deep? That helps bridge the gap, somewhat.

We’ve seen Tatum in the roamer role two years ago, and he was excellent. Its just less about blocking everything, and more about positional defense.

Rob is insane, but he was put into the roamer role because we had the luxury of a great post defender in Horford.

Every team is going to put two on Tatum in crunch time in the halfcourt and losing Rob eliminates one of our prime release valves for whoever gets the ball off the pass. I think it's a pretty devastating loss on the offensive side. Marcus will have to be great. Shooters will have to hit their shots. I think our ceiling is lower without Rob if only because the pressure on everyone else is intensified.

My worry is more about the rest of the game, and when Tatum sits, than crunch time. This team has been using White/Grant in the closing lineups, and we usually have one of Al or Rob out there.

It’s the minutes without Tatum that have me shook, even at 39/40 a game in the playoffs, there’s 8/9 minutes without him where we could get run off the floor. Jaylen and White are going to have to step up and hope the team can break even in those minutes? Not holding my breathe on that though, as it’s been an issue all season.

[Jaqua92]

Doesn't Al have a better defensive rating than Rob or am I making up memories in my head?

I'm devastated about Rob but we still have a very good team regardless.

Yeah I’m actually more worried about offensively than defensively. Teams are so scared of Rob as a lob threat, and he’s so athletic that he still rises over the defenders. The spacing he beings just can’t be replicated as a rim runner, but if Grant and Al are hitting from deep? That helps bridge the gap, somewhat.

We’ve seen Tatum in the roamer role two years ago, and he was excellent. Its just less about blocking everything, and more about positional defense.

Rob is insane, but he was put into the roamer role because we had the luxury of a great post defender in Horford.

Every team is going to put two on Tatum in crunch time in the halfcourt and losing Rob eliminates one of our prime release valves for whoever gets the ball off the pass. I think it's a pretty devastating loss on the offensive side. Marcus will have to be great. Shooters will have to hit their shots. I think our ceiling is lower without Rob if only because the pressure on everyone else is intensified.

This. As great as Smart is, Rob has been our 3rd best player and our most important defender.

It's no coincidence the defense exploded like it did by having Rob as a safety. He's a game changer in Ime's scheme.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[darrendaye]

In what way? Trade him for some more durable but less talented player? No thanks. I'd rather be careful with him during the regular season and unleash him the playoffs. Talent trumps consistency in the NBA. And if you mean by shoring up depth, that was the exact purpose of the Theis trade. Of course they should look for more in the offseason but even at 60 games/yr, Rob's deal is a STEAL.

Haha no. I didn't mean trade. Clearly though, his injury resume is a bit concerning. I was thinking more along the lines of a good backup.I love Rob even with all his injuries i wouldnt trade him. Relax.
Theis is a 3rd backup big. We need someone who can step into Rob's role and give us similar production. Theis aint it.

We'll never make that work cap-wise. That guy you are talking about is Al Horford. When you're paying $60M/yr to Tatum+Brown, $20M to Smart, $17 to White and you have Horford's figure, it's almost a miracle we can afford even $8M for Theis as the 3rd big. Only way we can do that is having either street FAs or rookie deals for every other spot on the roster.

Fact is few teams even have 3 functional bigs you can trust in crunch time. That's the dirty secret of 'smallball' - it's mainly to avoid having to play a sucky big as much as it is the spacing you gain. I mean look at Philly - they literally don't have a 2nd useful big on the roster.

<cough><cough> Harry <cough> Giles <cough>

[Marvel]

In what way? Trade him for some more durable but less talented player? No thanks. I'd rather be careful with him during the regular season and unleash him the playoffs. Talent trumps consistency in the NBA. And if you mean by shoring up depth, that was the exact purpose of the Theis trade. Of course they should look for more in the offseason but even at 60 games/yr, Rob's deal is a STEAL.

Haha no. I didn't mean trade. Clearly though, his injury resume is a bit concerning. I was thinking more along the lines of a good backup.I love Rob even with all his injuries i wouldnt trade him. Relax.
Theis is a 3rd backup big. We need someone who can step into Rob's role and give us similar production. Theis aint it.

We'll never make that work cap-wise. That guy you are talking about is Al Horford. When you're paying $60M/yr to Tatum+Brown, $20M to Smart, $17 to White and you have Horford's figure, it's almost a miracle we can afford even $8M for Theis as the 3rd big. Only way we can do that is having either street FAs or rookie deals for every other spot on the roster.

Fact is few teams even have 3 functional bigs you can trust in crunch time. That's the dirty secret of 'smallball' - it's mainly to avoid having to play a sucky big as much as it is the spacing you gain. I mean look at Philly - they literally don't have a 2nd useful big on the roster.

Al? Beyond this season i'm not confident he can be 'that guy' lol. We have Grant who can replace Al so i'm not worried there. In terms of bigs who Brad could realistically target, i really like Omer Yurtseven.

[fallguy]

Yeah I’m actually more worried about offensively than defensively. Teams are so scared of Rob as a lob threat, and he’s so athletic that he still rises over the defenders. The spacing he beings just can’t be replicated as a rim runner, but if Grant and Al are hitting from deep? That helps bridge the gap, somewhat.

We’ve seen Tatum in the roamer role two years ago, and he was excellent. Its just less about blocking everything, and more about positional defense.

Rob is insane, but he was put into the roamer role because we had the luxury of a great post defender in Horford.

Every team is going to put two on Tatum in crunch time in the halfcourt and losing Rob eliminates one of our prime release valves for whoever gets the ball off the pass. I think it's a pretty devastating loss on the offensive side. Marcus will have to be great. Shooters will have to hit their shots. I think our ceiling is lower without Rob if only because the pressure on everyone else is intensified.

My worry is more about the rest of the game, and when Tatum sits, than crunch time. This team has been using White/Grant in the closing lineups, and we usually have one of Al or Rob out there.

It’s the minutes without Tatum that have me shook, even at 39/40 a game in the playoffs, there’s 8/9 minutes without him where we could get run off the floor. Jaylen and White are going to have to step up and hope the team can break even in those minutes? Not holding my breathe on that though, as it’s been an issue all season.

LOL - I mean.... this is an argument for Beal that's hard for me to deny. If Jaylen can't be that guy for 4 minutes a half, we need another guy...

[Feed Your Head]

Every team is going to put two on Tatum in crunch time in the halfcourt and losing Rob eliminates one of our prime release valves for whoever gets the ball off the pass. I think it's a pretty devastating loss on the offensive side. Marcus will have to be great. Shooters will have to hit their shots. I think our ceiling is lower without Rob if only because the pressure on everyone else is intensified.

My worry is more about the rest of the game, and when Tatum sits, than crunch time. This team has been using White/Grant in the closing lineups, and we usually have one of Al or Rob out there.

It’s the minutes without Tatum that have me shook, even at 39/40 a game in the playoffs, there’s 8/9 minutes without him where we could get run off the floor. Jaylen and White are going to have to step up and hope the team can break even in those minutes? Not holding my breathe on that though, as it’s been an issue all season.

LOL - I mean.... this is an argument for Beal that's hard for me to deny. If Jaylen can't be that guy for 4 minutes a half, we need another guy...

zoyathedestroya and magicbagley18 liked this post.

[Hal14]

Haha no. I didn't mean trade. Clearly though, his injury resume is a bit concerning. I was thinking more along the lines of a good backup.I love Rob even with all his injuries i wouldnt trade him. Relax.
Theis is a 3rd backup big. We need someone who can step into Rob's role and give us similar production. Theis aint it.

We'll never make that work cap-wise. That guy you are talking about is Al Horford. When you're paying $60M/yr to Tatum+Brown, $20M to Smart, $17 to White and you have Horford's figure, it's almost a miracle we can afford even $8M for Theis as the 3rd big. Only way we can do that is having either street FAs or rookie deals for every other spot on the roster.

Fact is few teams even have 3 functional bigs you can trust in crunch time. That's the dirty secret of 'smallball' - it's mainly to avoid having to play a sucky big as much as it is the spacing you gain. I mean look at Philly - they literally don't have a 2nd useful big on the roster.

Al? Beyond this season i'm not confident he can be 'that guy' lol. We have Grant who can replace Al so i'm not worried there. In terms of bigs who Brad could realistically target, i really like Omer Yurtseven.

I like this guy.

Watch on YouTube

Arguably the best pro basketball center in the world right now who's not on an NBA roster. Putting up 17 pts, 9 rebs, 2 blocks and shooting 35% from 3 this season for the team that's in 1st place in the NBL, which is one of the best international pro leagues in the world. 6'11" with a 7'3" wingspan. 27 yrs old, right in the prime of his career.

Plus since he has very minimal NBA experience, we could sign him for cheap..

[zoyathedestroya]

No offense to stans to other players on the team including myself who loves Smart to death, but Rob to me is the 2nd most important piece to what we do on both ends and is maybe the least easily replaceable guy on the team not named Tatum. So let me sulk a bit and stew on this news of his demise. I know they said he could come back at some point yada yada yada but take me there now and show me he's the same guy we've seen the past 5 months.

Anyway, hope they do what's best for Rob and his career long-term. The guys just have another thing to rally around now. We're most likely counted out as a threat more than before. We die fighting.

[Feed Your Head]

No offense to stans to other players on the team including myself who loves Smart to death, but Rob to me is the 2nd most important piece to what we do on both ends and is maybe the least easily replaceable guy on the team not named Tatum. So let me sulk a bit and stew on this news of his demise. I know they said he could come back at some point yada yada yada but take me there now and show me he's the same guy we've seen the past 5 months.

Anyway, hope they do what's best for Rob and his career long-term. The guys just have another thing to rally around now. We're most likely counted out as a threat more than before. We die fighting.

I’d be pretty shocked if he came back. Smart has made it close in my eyes, but I’d still lean Rob for second most important overall. I’ve been on this train for about a year now, can’t jump off now.

We become a different team offensively, more dependent on hitting threes, or White, Smart, Jaylen hitting floaters off of the Tatum traps.

I’m dreading the minutes without JT come playoff time.

[bisme37]

Read on Twitter

[ryan in Maine]

Yeah I’m actually more worried about offensively than defensively. Teams are so scared of Rob as a lob threat, and he’s so athletic that he still rises over the defenders. The spacing he beings just can’t be replicated as a rim runner, but if Grant and Al are hitting from deep? That helps bridge the gap, somewhat.

We’ve seen Tatum in the roamer role two years ago, and he was excellent. Its just less about blocking everything, and more about positional defense.

Rob is insane, but he was put into the roamer role because we had the luxury of a great post defender in Horford.

Every team is going to put two on Tatum in crunch time in the halfcourt and losing Rob eliminates one of our prime release valves for whoever gets the ball off the pass. I think it's a pretty devastating loss on the offensive side. Marcus will have to be great. Shooters will have to hit their shots. I think our ceiling is lower without Rob if only because the pressure on everyone else is intensified.

My worry is more about the rest of the game, and when Tatum sits, than crunch time. This team has been using White/Grant in the closing lineups, and we usually have one of Al or Rob out there.

It’s the minutes without Tatum that have me shook, even at 39/40 a game in the playoffs, there’s 8/9 minutes without him where we could get run off the floor. Jaylen and White are going to have to step up and hope the team can break even in those minutes? Not holding my breathe on that though, as it’s been an issue all season.

JB and Grant will step up.

Marcus still makes me a little nervous. He's been playing great because he's been playing under control. I think he can be your third option for a stretch of games but still makes me nervous.

I'd like to see Al go all out for the rest of the year if he's willing.

[reload141]

I'm flying over from Australia with my scalpel to personally do the procedure and then massage his knee 24/7.

I'm going to need to stay awake somehow..... anyone got any ideas?

[Parasite]

We’ve been cursed since 2009. Why should it stop now? Other than Tatum, Rob is the most irreplaceable part of the team imo.

[ryan in Maine]

I'm flying over from Australia with my scalpel to personally do the procedure and then massage his knee 24/7.

I'm going to need to stay awake somehow..... anyone got any ideas?

[Marvel]

We'll never make that work cap-wise. That guy you are talking about is Al Horford. When you're paying $60M/yr to Tatum+Brown, $20M to Smart, $17 to White and you have Horford's figure, it's almost a miracle we can afford even $8M for Theis as the 3rd big. Only way we can do that is having either street FAs or rookie deals for every other spot on the roster.

Fact is few teams even have 3 functional bigs you can trust in crunch time. That's the dirty secret of 'smallball' - it's mainly to avoid having to play a sucky big as much as it is the spacing you gain. I mean look at Philly - they literally don't have a 2nd useful big on the roster.

Al? Beyond this season i'm not confident he can be 'that guy' lol. We have Grant who can replace Al so i'm not worried there. In terms of bigs who Brad could realistically target, i really like Omer Yurtseven.

I like this guy.

Watch on YouTube

Arguably the best pro basketball center in the world right now who's not on an NBA roster. Putting up 17 pts, 9 rebs, 2 blocks and shooting 35% from 3 this season for the team that's in 1st place in the NBL, which is one of the best international pro leagues in the world. 6'11" with a 7'3" wingspan. 27 yrs old, right in the prime of his career.

Plus since he has very minimal NBA experience, we could sign him for cheap..

Looks better than Theis lol. Why not.

[Marvel]

I think shutting him down is best. Hate it but he won't be 100% and considering his past injuries and his style of play(bouncing, jumping, catching lobs) they would be playing with fire. Come back healthy next season, championships.

[LarryBirdsFingr]

Beware the curse

[London2Boston]

Always some ****.