Author Topic: Evaluation of the Time Lord?  (Read 1428 times)

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Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« on: May 17, 2019, 05:18:32 PM »

Offline libermaniac

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Sorry, couldn't find a thread on this.

I'm curious if anybody has a good evaluation on Robert Williams, and why he didn't play much this year.  Every time I saw him play he did something eye-popping.  He seems like a fantastic shot blocker, a strong rebounder and finishes the lob like almost nobody else.  Are there other serious flaws in his game that are so glaring that it offsets these skills?  Is he just not getting the team defensive concepts?  Is his inability to spread the floor on offense something that hampers the team that much?

Normally, when a rookie, or young guy doesn't play much, like James Young or Yabusele, I get it because they just don't pass the eye test.  But the Time Lord passes the eye test and then some.  So, I'm a bit confused as to what exactly we've got in him.

I never seem to read any interviews about what Stevens or Ainge think of him, long-term.  Any insight into what we've got with him will be much appreciated.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2019, 05:21:31 PM »

Offline RJ87

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He does some flashy things well like block shots, but his fundamentals need work. He's often out of position defensively and he struggles on pick & roll defense quite a bit.
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Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2019, 05:24:34 PM »

Offline Monkhouse

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Hes very raw defensively. Got lost in rotations, making times he was covering on the weak side, he would lose sight of cutters. His awareness is definitely not that great, but his length and vertical can help make up for his mistakes. The problem is hes a huge liability on offense due to not being able to shoot, score, and pass other than lobs and the occasional great bounce pass.

I like his future though, seems like if he gets his head on right, he will indeed be similar to Clint Capela. His jumping ability is through the roof, and his wingspan is ginormous!
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Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2019, 05:52:54 PM »

Offline footey

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Great potential defensively. Needs to develop offensively.

Stevens kept him off court for a reason.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2019, 06:34:05 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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« Last Edit: May 17, 2019, 06:44:12 PM by SHAQATTACK »

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2019, 06:42:39 PM »

Offline Phantom255x

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Unless Stevens changes his scheme a bit, I'm afraid Timelord won't get much of a chance here.

He has the potential to be a Capela/DeAndre Jordan type player in the future, but those are the kind of players Brad would hate on his team and wouldn't play much either  ::)

He won't score much but as his ceiling, he's probably capable of 10-15 PPG given the minutes with the ability to block shots and rebound well. But if you're hoping for someone who can stretch the floor and also shoot 3s, I don't see that in him.

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Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2019, 06:59:20 PM »

Offline nickagneta

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Unless Stevens changes his scheme a bit, I'm afraid Timelord won't get much of a chance here.

He has the potential to be a Capela/DeAndre Jordan type player in the future, but those are the kind of players Brad would hate on his team and wouldn't play much either  ::)

He won't score much but as his ceiling, he's probably capable of 10-15 PPG given the minutes with the ability to block shots and rebound well. But if you're hoping for someone who can stretch the floor and also shoot 3s, I don't see that in him.
This is untrue. Capella and Jordan are great defensive players. They would easily get playing time here. They play great defense, they are elite rebounders, they set amazing picks, and are elite rim protectors. At the moment,  Williams is only a rim protector and even then he is way too easily faked into the air and called for a foul. Capella and Jordan are also significantly stronger than Williams.

If Williams can transform himself into a version of say, Capella, by getting stronger, especially in his lower body, learn the defensive system and get good at playing within it, learn to set picks better(timing on when to set, when to roll, being strong enough to make the picks count) and rebound better using more technique than athleticism which would make him his best rebounding self, then I think he would be starting material here.

He definitely has the potential to be that type of player. It's all up to him. He has the physical tools but does he have enough between the ears and in his heart to become as good as he can get? He is dripping potential but potential don't win rings. Realized potential does.

Timelord needs to put in the work to earn the minutes to realize his potential. You can't force feed him minutes he doesn't deserve getting. We have seen this year how giving people minutes that others think they do not deserve can adversely affect a locker room. Best to make TL earn his role.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2019, 07:06:40 PM »

Offline mr. dee

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Hes very raw defensively. Got lost in rotations, making times he was covering on the weak side, he would lose sight of cutters. His awareness is definitely not that great, but his length and vertical can help make up for his mistakes. The problem is hes a huge liability on offense due to not being able to shoot, score, and pass other than lobs and the occasional great bounce pass.

I like his future though, seems like if he gets his head on right, he will indeed be similar to Clint Capela. His jumping ability is through the roof, and his wingspan is ginormous!

I think Timelord is already a better passer than Tatum, Brown and Rozier combined. He can see open players that those 3 don't everytime he passes the ball.

His major weakness is not knowing the defensive schemes and stopping the pick n roll, along with his shooting. But shooting is the most fixable out of his weaknesses. His jumpshot isn't exactly broken and even poor shooters like Kidd, Rondo, Deandre and Drummond somehow improved their shooting too.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2019, 07:20:50 PM »

Offline philr13

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I read somewhere that Stevens was disappointed that Williams couldn't spend more time in Maine this year. Baynes' injuries forced the team to keep Williams on the Celtics bench as insurance when he should have been in Maine getting in more reps. Stevens implied that Williams development had been stunted this season as a result.

I certainly hope they deal with this issue in the off-season. They need another rotation worthy big.

Just another thing that went wrong this season.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2019, 07:37:37 PM »

Offline Csfan1984

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He didn't earn the playing time...

Hopefully he can work hard and really improve with time...

Maybe in the future he might get more time....

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #10 on: May 17, 2019, 08:08:47 PM »

Offline Birdman

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Never did play a whole lot so to early to tell
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Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2019, 08:21:33 PM »

Offline tstorey_97

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The thing with Bob is his coach won't play him.

I understand his ceiling is limited, not an outside shooter etc, but, he has to play to overcome his weaknesses in positioning. He'll never be of any use if he isn't given minutes.

Finally, I don't think any evaluation is possible without consistent time on the floor and? He may never get it.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2019, 08:32:13 PM »

Offline SCeltic34

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Impressed with:
- Good hands
- Decision making with the ball, gets rid of it quickly if he sees an open teammate
- Incredible athleticism and shotblocking ability
- Conditioning was significantly improved compared to the preseason

Needs work:
- Typical rookie struggles, lost on team defense
- Lack of an offensive arsenal, no polish to his game

Not impressed with:
- I'm not sure anyone else noticed this, but in the final game of the season against Washington, Williams looked disinterested and his effort level was really poor.  I mean REALLY poor.  I didn't see fighting for position or fighting for rebounds, running the floor hard, etc, things you'd expect from a young player trying to make a place for himself in the league.  Questionable motor, questionable desire to win.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #13 on: May 17, 2019, 08:39:55 PM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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He is surpisingly a good passer.

Classic guy who coasted on superior athletic talent while lacking skills.

Re: Evaluation of the Time Lord?
« Reply #14 on: May 18, 2019, 12:30:35 AM »

Offline ozgod

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The thing with Bob is his coach won't play him.

I understand his ceiling is limited, not an outside shooter etc, but, he has to play to overcome his weaknesses in positioning. He'll never be of any use if he isn't given minutes.

Finally, I don't think any evaluation is possible without consistent time on the floor and? He may never get it.

As Nick mentioned above, that was the logic used to give Hayward minutes when he clearly wasn't ready, and it caused all kinds of resentment in the locker room from the likes of Rozier (and probably others). Even posters here were upset about it. And he was an All-Star. Imagine a rookie being given those minutes as well. It's unfortunate that he was on a team with championship aspirations, with a lot of players.

What should have happened is that he should have spent a lot more time in Maine with the Red Claws. I think that was the plan for the season, given our depth. But because of their fear of being shorthanded if Theis got injured with Baynes already injured, along with Brad's lack of faith in Yabu, it forced Timelord to sit on the bench when he should have been playing in the G-League.

This was basically a wasted year for him - he was essentially a glorified practice player.
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