Robert Williams (Merged Threads)

[Chris22]

Sabonis killed Baynes. Don’t know why Brad doesn’t at least try Williams.

Because he isn't ready. Just because he had 8 minutes of decent play in garbage time doesn't mean he is ready to play or better than the players in front of him. Stevens is a great coach and has developed some great talent. He doesn't think Williams is ready and he knows his physical condition, how he looks in practice and how much Williams knows of the Celtics offensive and defensive sets.

This is just another perfect example of Celtics fans wanting to see a new player play because they think that player is better than they are because the player looked decent for 5 minutes in one game in garbage time. How many times do we need to hear Free Mickey or Free RJ Hunter or Free James Young or Free Yabu just to find out that player sucks and is close to being out of the league in a year or two.

Not saying Williams will be bad enough to be out of the league in a year or two. Honestly I see great things in him. But he isn't NBA ready yet and may not be this year. There is nothing wrong with that. We just need to have patience. If Stevens isn't playing him during rotational minutes, there is a reason for that. That reason is Williams isn't ready.

Stevens isn't Doc Rivers. He doesn't bury first year players. Smart, Brown and Tatum all got good run their rookie years. Heck, so did Ojeleye. Stevens will play rookies when they are good enough to earn rotational minutes. That Williams isn't getting those minutes should tell you all you need to know about how ready Williams is. Heck, he is on a minutes restriction in the G League. What do you think that tells you about how physically ready he is for the big league?

I’m so sick of people that keep saying this. Would Williams have made a difference tonight, who knows, but the fact that people keep saying we can’t base our assumptions on his previous garbage time minutes is so annoying. If you don’t want us to make assumptions based on his garbage time minutes then play him in a game that actually matters. It’s not our fault that Stevens hasn’t played him when it matters. I honestly don’t see what the problem is with giving him minutes in a meaningful game. The worse that happens is he messes up once and then you simply pull him and don’t play him anymore. Then fans who want to see him play will shut up because he gave him a shot and he wasn’t good enough.

Dude, the fans don't know what's best for this team, the coaching staff and front office does. It's not their job to prove to fans that unused rookies aren't good enough to play. That concept is ridiculous.

What is Stevens supposed to do? He knows a player isn't ready yet. He can see it in practice, walk through, video study and physical conditioning but Stevens should say "Well I might as well play this guy I know isn't ready or better than the players in front of him just to prove to fans he isn't ready." Really? Is that what he is supposed to do? That's absurd.

That is was happens when you spend the whole summer putting an end of first round rookie in the same sentence with Russel.   

When one of the most open minded coaches doesn't play a player is means the player is not ready. End of story.

Or that should be the end of the story but the know-it-all-sports-fan knows better because he watched youtube clips and checked the scouting report

lol

I've been watching NBA basketball before Brad Stevens was even born.

[gouki88]

Sabonis killed Baynes. Don’t know why Brad doesn’t at least try Williams.

Because he isn't ready. Just because he had 8 minutes of decent play in garbage time doesn't mean he is ready to play or better than the players in front of him. Stevens is a great coach and has developed some great talent. He doesn't think Williams is ready and he knows his physical condition, how he looks in practice and how much Williams knows of the Celtics offensive and defensive sets.

This is just another perfect example of Celtics fans wanting to see a new player play because they think that player is better than they are because the player looked decent for 5 minutes in one game in garbage time. How many times do we need to hear Free Mickey or Free RJ Hunter or Free James Young or Free Yabu just to find out that player sucks and is close to being out of the league in a year or two.

Not saying Williams will be bad enough to be out of the league in a year or two. Honestly I see great things in him. But he isn't NBA ready yet and may not be this year. There is nothing wrong with that. We just need to have patience. If Stevens isn't playing him during rotational minutes, there is a reason for that. That reason is Williams isn't ready.

Stevens isn't Doc Rivers. He doesn't bury first year players. Smart, Brown and Tatum all got good run their rookie years. Heck, so did Ojeleye. Stevens will play rookies when they are good enough to earn rotational minutes. That Williams isn't getting those minutes should tell you all you need to know about how ready Williams is. Heck, he is on a minutes restriction in the G League. What do you think that tells you about how physically ready he is for the big league?

I’m so sick of people that keep saying this. Would Williams have made a difference tonight, who knows, but the fact that people keep saying we can’t base our assumptions on his previous garbage time minutes is so annoying. If you don’t want us to make assumptions based on his garbage time minutes then play him in a game that actually matters. It’s not our fault that Stevens hasn’t played him when it matters. I honestly don’t see what the problem is with giving him minutes in a meaningful game. The worse that happens is he messes up once and then you simply pull him and don’t play him anymore. Then fans who want to see him play will shut up because he gave him a shot and he wasn’t good enough.

Dude, the fans don't know what's best for this team, the coaching staff and front office does. It's not their job to prove to fans that unused rookies aren't good enough to play. That concept is ridiculous.

What is Stevens supposed to do? He knows a player isn't ready yet. He can see it in practice, walk through, video study and physical conditioning but Stevens should say "Well I might as well play this guy I know isn't ready or better than the players in front of him just to prove to fans he isn't ready." Really? Is that what he is supposed to do? That's absurd.

That is was happens when you spend the whole summer putting an end of first round rookie in the same sentence with Russel.   

When one of the most open minded coaches doesn't play a player is means the player is not ready. End of story.

Or that should be the end of the story but the know-it-all-sports-fan knows better because he watched youtube clips and checked the scouting report

lol

I've been watching NBA basketball before Brad Stevens was even born.

That doesn't mean anything though. So has Rick Pitino - is he a more suitable NBA coach than CBS?

CBS is definitely flawed, but some of the armchair coaching on here is crazy

[Chris22]

Sabonis killed Baynes. Don’t know why Brad doesn’t at least try Williams.

Because he isn't ready. Just because he had 8 minutes of decent play in garbage time doesn't mean he is ready to play or better than the players in front of him. Stevens is a great coach and has developed some great talent. He doesn't think Williams is ready and he knows his physical condition, how he looks in practice and how much Williams knows of the Celtics offensive and defensive sets.

This is just another perfect example of Celtics fans wanting to see a new player play because they think that player is better than they are because the player looked decent for 5 minutes in one game in garbage time. How many times do we need to hear Free Mickey or Free RJ Hunter or Free James Young or Free Yabu just to find out that player sucks and is close to being out of the league in a year or two.

Not saying Williams will be bad enough to be out of the league in a year or two. Honestly I see great things in him. But he isn't NBA ready yet and may not be this year. There is nothing wrong with that. We just need to have patience. If Stevens isn't playing him during rotational minutes, there is a reason for that. That reason is Williams isn't ready.

Stevens isn't Doc Rivers. He doesn't bury first year players. Smart, Brown and Tatum all got good run their rookie years. Heck, so did Ojeleye. Stevens will play rookies when they are good enough to earn rotational minutes. That Williams isn't getting those minutes should tell you all you need to know about how ready Williams is. Heck, he is on a minutes restriction in the G League. What do you think that tells you about how physically ready he is for the big league?

I’m so sick of people that keep saying this. Would Williams have made a difference tonight, who knows, but the fact that people keep saying we can’t base our assumptions on his previous garbage time minutes is so annoying. If you don’t want us to make assumptions based on his garbage time minutes then play him in a game that actually matters. It’s not our fault that Stevens hasn’t played him when it matters. I honestly don’t see what the problem is with giving him minutes in a meaningful game. The worse that happens is he messes up once and then you simply pull him and don’t play him anymore. Then fans who want to see him play will shut up because he gave him a shot and he wasn’t good enough.

Dude, the fans don't know what's best for this team, the coaching staff and front office does. It's not their job to prove to fans that unused rookies aren't good enough to play. That concept is ridiculous.

What is Stevens supposed to do? He knows a player isn't ready yet. He can see it in practice, walk through, video study and physical conditioning but Stevens should say "Well I might as well play this guy I know isn't ready or better than the players in front of him just to prove to fans he isn't ready." Really? Is that what he is supposed to do? That's absurd.

That is was happens when you spend the whole summer putting an end of first round rookie in the same sentence with Russel.   

When one of the most open minded coaches doesn't play a player is means the player is not ready. End of story.

Or that should be the end of the story but the know-it-all-sports-fan knows better because he watched youtube clips and checked the scouting report

lol

I've been watching NBA basketball before Brad Stevens was even born.

That doesn't mean anything though. So has Rick Pitino - is he a more suitable NBA coach than CBS?

CBS is definitely flawed, but some of the armchair coaching on here is crazy

I am not criticizing Brad, but I would like to see more of Williams. That play tonight was amazing.

I think the big thing with Williams is, will his knees hold up?

[byennie]

Williams is not ready for major minutes now, but it would be invaluable if he was at least an every night role player by the playoffs.

There are going to be opponents where for 10-20 minutes a guy like Williams can mess up their offense (like Semi on Giannis) or exploit a matchup (like a young Al Jefferson back in the day). Teams are playing centers who would have been "tweener" power forwards 10 years ago, and it's an asset if you can sometimes go against the grain and exploit the matchup. Williams has the potential to overwhelm small ball centers on the boards and still defend them out to the 3pt line.

Given all of that and with Theis out and Yabusele not offering much, I think he deserves a look for ~10 minutes a night right now. Yeah, he's not Bill Russell, but he's also a lottery talent who could have easily ended up on a lottery team playing right away.

[rondofan1255]

Free RW3

Block party time!

[rollie mass]

Makes it look easy last night lobs,put back dunks ,blocks and some good passing.

[slamtheking]

he could use some work to keep in shape and develop his game.  would like to hear he develops his offense where he can reliably make some moves in the post as well as make shots out to at least 12 feet.

[kraidstar]

I was at the game last night, he looked amazing on defense. Kid is a freak. Up close it is easy to see the remarkable length and athleticism.

His finishing around the rim needs to improve though. A little better footwork, timing, and touch will do wonders for his scoring. He's just a tiny bit off kilter.

[knuckleballer]

The Red Claws had Yabu, Williams, and Wannamaker all playing 25-28 minutes along with Lemon and Dozier and they still lost.  Ouch.

https://gleague.nba.com/games/20181115/RAPMNE/

[kraidstar]

The Red Claws had Yabu, Williams, and Wannamaker all playing 25-28 minutes along with Lemon and Dozier and they still lost.  Ouch.

https://gleague.nba.com/games/20181115/RAPMNE/

Unfortunately, aside from Marcus Georges-Hunt, the rest of the roster looked pretty terrible. Some season ticketholders next to me in the crowd were griping about it.

Yab wasn't great, either, actually, he botched a bunch of shots inside, rimming out potentially easy scores. He also looked fat to me. If he doesn't condition himself better he will be done as an NBA player.

Wanamaker looked solid but didn't get enough minutes IMO.

Williams was conspicuously better than anyone else on the court. There was one play where the opposing forward was out near the 3pt line with the ball, head-faked, jumped to shoot, and Williams calmly waited for him to rise and release, and then leaped up gracefully to swat the ball out of the air well after its release. It was a thing of beauty, such a relaxed, confident block.

He has enormous potential.

[rollie mass]

Robert Williams is SPECIAL and i think being brought along with a patient long term approach.
They got him his own private coach and mentor.He has three vets Horford his idol,Baynes and Theis.All hard workers, then there are the young guys Tatum and Brown playing and wanting to work to be great Then the tough guys Marcus ,Marcus and Rozier and then superstar Kyrie.
He has had his first road trip traveling with the guys getting a few minutes here and there but learning how to be a NBA player on and OFF the court
Then he goes up to Maine with Yabusele and Wanamaker gets his 25 minutes and either plays again tonight for the Claws or back home for THE RAPTORS and a packed Boston Garden.
Think of Bender,Chriss and Josh Jackson with the Suns.Or the Kings and 76'ers ruining or not grooming their bigs.
Williams mother was right "worth the wait".
There are very few Jason Tatum or Devon Booker.
So it is our time to wait also.

[Chris22]

I want to see Williams covering Leonard.

[feckless]

If he is such a good defender how did their center get 32 points?

[headcase]

If he is such a good defender how did their center get 32 points?

Only someone that actually watched the game could tell you that, the box score says he got 9 from 3pt range, and 5 more from the stripe...so that is 14 points there

[hpantazo]

I want to see Williams covering Leonard.

Kawhi would upfake him into oblivion and foul him out