Rim Protector, Rebounder, and Rim Runner - is Robert Williams Ready?

[tstorey_97]

Bob will be fine, he just doesn't know how to play NBA defense yet. I hope they give him minutes as that will get us closer to him being a rotation player for us.

He just didn't have much of a clue on position when defending which makes sense because he never got a chance to learn how.

Veteran big, maybe two would be nice....mister Danny.

I love watching him as his hops and crazy reach are something the Celtics don't have now. In G league he showed some decent passing and floor vision but, G league is awful.

[Spicoli]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

[liam]

If this dude starts he will lead the league in blocks. I keep saying it. Best shot blocker i've seen since Dwight.

So a dude who has barely played a minute of meaningful NBA basketball is suddenly just as good as a 3-time DPOY winner? Give me a break. This feels like the Jordan Mickey hype all over again.

I've seen Robert Williams and Jordan Mickey play, they aren't the same at all....

true, but i believe in all fairness that the poster was referring to the hype and discussions and projections, not the players themselves.

OK. I can see that. But Robert Williams is by far the better prospect.

[liam]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

Excellent point. Robert Williams changes a ton of shots when his on the floor and with Tacko Fall next to him the lane is closed! 

[ETNCeltics]

I think it's fair to say add Walker and get no bigs this team is in trouble! If the only move they can do is bring in Walker than there really is no point. As much as we all like Time Lord he's hopefully ready to be on time to practice but getting legit minutes seems like a real stretch!

I also think it's fair to say that whether Ainge gets Walker or not, he's going to add some bigs.

[moiso]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

There is a lot more to preventing players from putting the ball in the hole than shotblocking.  Shotblocking is pretty overrated if you ask me.  I'd rather have a guy that can be in the right spot and move his feet to stay in front of people.  I don't really think Williams is good at defense yet... at preventing people from putting the ball in the hole.

[dreamgreen]

I think it's fair to say add Walker and get no bigs this team is in trouble! If the only move they can do is bring in Walker than there really is no point. As much as we all like Time Lord he's hopefully ready to be on time to practice but getting legit minutes seems like a real stretch!

I also think it's fair to say that whether Ainge gets Walker or not, he's going to add some bigs.

With no cap space how is he going to do that? I mean sure at 47 years old, 5'9" 160 lbs I'll sign for the minimum and play PF I guess!

[Spicoli]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

There is a lot more to preventing players from putting the ball in the hole than shotblocking.  Shotblocking is pretty overrated if you ask me.  I'd rather have a guy that can be in the right spot and move his feet.  I don't really think Williams is good at defense yet... at preventing people from putting the ball in the hole.

What's the point in moving your feet, and making the correct read only for the refs to blow the whistle on a weak foul call? The NBA is soft, and the officials are horrible. Being a smart defender is valuable but it's not that valuable given the current state of the league, and Silver basically turning every game into a shootout. I'd take a superstar shot blocker over a Shane Battier "smart" defender" any day of the week.

The only type of defender to me that has just as much value in the current iteration of the NBA is a guy who comes up with a ton of steals and creates havoc in the passing lanes.

[PhoSita]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

These are good points.

I really wish we had a stat that measured how often a blocked shot by a specific player results in possession for the other team (i.e. goes out of bounds or into the hands of an opponent) versus how often a blocked shot results in possession for the blocking player's team.

Tim Duncan was famously a master at blocking shots such that he would recover possession or the ball would go to a teammate.  Howard often blocked shots way into the stands.  Howard's blocks were super satisfying visually but often turned into a side-out for the other team.


As you note, however, even if a blocked shot turns into a side-out, that may still deter opponents from attempting shots when the prodigious shot blocker is in the vicinity.

[byennie]

I think it's fair to say add Walker and get no bigs this team is in trouble! If the only move they can do is bring in Walker than there really is no point. As much as we all like Time Lord he's hopefully ready to be on time to practice but getting legit minutes seems like a real stretch!

I also think it's fair to say that whether Ainge gets Walker or not, he's going to add some bigs.

With no cap space how is he going to do that? I mean sure at 47 years old, 5'9" 160 lbs I'll sign for the minimum and play PF I guess!

Not easily, but I would expect him to sign at least 1 euro player on the cheap, use the MLE, and play Williams + Yabusele. Not too sexy on its  own, but I think there are paths to at least 4 serviceable bigs in addition to a pickup like Capela.

[nickagneta]

Track record means nothing to me.  What skills does he actually bring to the table that Robert Williams doesn't have?  Tatum played big minutes as a rookie because he was skilled, not because he had a track record.  I'm genuinely curious what the basketball experts on the board thing Williams needs to do before he plays big minutes.

What would someone like Clint Capela bring to the Boston table that Robert Williams doesn't at this point? 

No.  At most he should be getting 10-15 minutes a night on a decent team.

A track record of producing and defending at a high level playing significant minutes for a very good team?

Track record should mean something. Capela has proven in this league that he can:

Rebound the ball at an elite level.
Set excellent screens.
Roll to the rim and close at a ridiculously high percentage.
Has the lateral movement and quickness to defend out to the perimeter at a high level.
Play within a team defense and make the correct switches and adjustments.
Play pick and roll defense at a very high level.
Protect the rim and be the last line of defense at a very high level.

Capela has proven he could do all that and is only 25 years old on a decent contract for years.

RWilliams has the potential to do all that at Capela's level in the league, someday, but that is no guarantee. Potential and a couple bucks will get you a cheap cup of coffee and little else.

I feel Williams could be as good as Capela one day, but that day is not next year. He just hasn't shown he is ready to be that good. I hold out hope and think by his 4th year he could be that good, but see no reason why he and Capela can't share center minutes until Williams proves he is good enough to make Capela expendable.

[Spicoli]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

These are good points.

I really wish we had a stat that measured how often a blocked shot by a specific player results in possession for the other team (i.e. goes out of bounds or into the hands of an opponent) versus how often a blocked shot results in possession for the blocking player's team.

Tim Duncan was famously a master at blocking shots such that he would recover possession or the ball would go to a teammate.  Howard often blocked shots way into the stands.  Howard's blocks were super satisfying visually but often turned into a side-out for the other team.


As you note, however, even if a blocked shot turns into a side-out, that may still deter opponents from attempting shots when the prodigious shot blocker is in the vicinity.

Precisely. Even if the shot blocker stupidly swats the ball out of bounds, the opposing team/players will think twice when entering the paint. Now if that guy is swatting 2 shots every 8 minutes like the stats say Williams is doing, as an opposing player there's no way that wouldn't affect my release when i get near the guy. I'm going to have to try to get the shot way up higher or around and underneath the guy and it makes it so much more difficult for them to score. This is very valuable in today's NBA where "perimeter" defense has been almost completely neutered.

[Boris Badenov]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

These are good points.

I really wish we had a stat that measured how often a blocked shot by a specific player results in possession for the other team (i.e. goes out of bounds or into the hands of an opponent) versus how often a blocked shot results in possession for the blocking player's team.

Tim Duncan was famously a master at blocking shots such that he would recover possession or the ball would go to a teammate.  Howard often blocked shots way into the stands.  Howard's blocks were super satisfying visually but often turned into a side-out for the other team.


As you note, however, even if a blocked shot turns into a side-out, that may still deter opponents from attempting shots when the prodigious shot blocker is in the vicinity.

Grant Williams seems to be good at that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7rYdTLxXTA&t=88s

[Muzzy66]

I like what I've seen from Williams so far tbh.

I know he hasn't exactly lit up the box score, but he comes in ready to play every time,  he keeps things simple and doesnt try to play beyond his ability, and he tends to make an impact wjen he steps on the court.

He didn't have a lot of opportunity last season due to how stacked the team was, but I'd be curious to see what he can do.

If I'm not mistaken i seem to recall many scouts liking at Williams as a lottery talent,  and that he simply dropped due to character concerns. 

[liam]

This current iteration of the NBA has made it impossible or close to impossible to stop the pick and roll. So honestly, all that really matters is stopping the guy when he ultimately arrives in the painted area. I play pickup basketball (and i'm sure a lot of you do as well) and if i'm playing against a shot blocker i think twice about driving into the paint and even if i do, the guy is able to alter my release and force me to put up bad shots. The people who are downplaying a superstar shot blocker (which Williams is) are making basketball more complicated than it actually is. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the hole on one end, and stop the other player from putting the ball in the hole on the other. Williams is really good at preventing players from putting the ball in the hole.

These are good points.

I really wish we had a stat that measured how often a blocked shot by a specific player results in possession for the other team (i.e. goes out of bounds or into the hands of an opponent) versus how often a blocked shot results in possession for the blocking player's team.

Tim Duncan was famously a master at blocking shots such that he would recover possession or the ball would go to a teammate.  Howard often blocked shots way into the stands.  Howard's blocks were super satisfying visually but often turned into a side-out for the other team.


As you note, however, even if a blocked shot turns into a side-out, that may still deter opponents from attempting shots when the prodigious shot blocker is in the vicinity.

Grant Williams seems to be good at that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7rYdTLxXTA&t=88s

The Williams Brothers are going to be awesome on the court together!