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?