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

[Surferdad]

He can dunk and block shots. That’s it. There are like 12 other important skills in basketball (passing, dribbling, rebounding, etc). Oh, and he has a poor motor; got winded easily last year.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I don't know anything except Hayward going out of his way to say Rob has been in the gym a lot and baring something like an injury, he thinks he's going to be a monster.

Fingers crossed!

[liam]

He can dunk and block shots. That’s it. There are like 12 other skills in basketball. Oh, and he has a poor motor; got winded easily last year.

He has good hands and can pass and a good rebounder. A good one on one defender. He has a good motor but "got winded" when he played a bunch of minutes out of the blue. He runs the floor well. Doesn't have a bad handle for a big. Did I leave anything out?

The biggest thing Robert Williams needs to work on is his team defense sets. That's what kept him off the floor last year. He needs to anchor the defense when he's on the floor.

[Surferdad]

He can dunk and block shots. That’s it. There are like 12 other skills in basketball. Oh, and he has a poor motor; got winded easily last year.

He has good hands and can pass and a good rebounder. A good one on one defender. He has a good motor but "got winded" when he played a bunch of minutes out of the blue. He runs the floor well. Doesn't have a bad handle for a big. Did I leave anything out?

Yep, and I’m not convinced on the ones you added.

[PhoSita]

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?

Learn how to defend a pick and roll consistently ... learn how to execute a dribble handoff and set screens without getting called for fouls .... learn how to block shots in a way that actually makes a difference as opposed to just looking cool ... work on his conditioning to be able to play at full effort and intensity for more than a few minutes at a time ...


Center is not an easy position to pick up in the NBA.  Especially on a team that is otherwise lacking in traditional big men to defend the paint.


nobody questions that Rob Williams has all the physical tools to be awesome.  question is whether he can put that together and learn the team system well enough to be truly effective.

Timelord only averaged 8.8 mpg last year in 32 games.  It's impossible to really extrapolate with any confidence what he might do if he were playing 70+ games and getting 15+ minutes a night.

[liam]

He can dunk and block shots. That’s it. There are like 12 other skills in basketball. Oh, and he has a poor motor; got winded easily last year.

He has good hands and can pass and a good rebounder. A good one on one defender. He has a good motor but "got winded" when he played a bunch of minutes out of the blue. He runs the floor well. Doesn't have a bad handle for a big. Did I leave anything out?

Yep, and I’m not convinced on the ones you added

per 36 minutes  5.1 blks, 13,8 rbs, 1.7 turnovers, FG% .70 ast .9 PF 4.6  pts 10.3 ORtg 132 DRtg 100 per 18.8

[PhoSita]

Really must emphasize that Rob Williams averaged almost as many fouls per 36 minutes as he did blocks.


To be clear, I think Timelord will be a useful backup big very soon, perhaps as soon as this year, but it would be crazy to slot him in as a significant rotation piece and think that the team is going to get consistent defense and production out of him.  If the team relies on Timelord for anything more than short minutes or as an injury fill-in, that's going to be a significant weakness in the rotation.

[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!

[footey]

I don't know anything except Hayward going out of his way to say Rob has been in the gym a lot and baring something like an injury, he thinks he's going to be a monster.

Fingers crossed!

Yeah, heard that on the podcast posted. He also said IF Rob keeps  working hard.  We will see soon enough come the fall.

[Celtics4ever]

Oh, and he has a poor motor;

Don't confuse lack of stamina with poor motor.   Poor motor means your lazy and don't move, and I sure as heck did not see that.

[SHAQATTACK]

he better be that and ready for minutes ..lots ....looking like he is the only center

[SHAQATTACK]

He can dunk and block shots. That’s it. There are like 12 other important skills in basketball (passing, dribbling, rebounding, etc). Oh, and he has a poor motor; got winded easily last year.

Im 15. years old and thats fine with me ....if he dunks, screw everything else.   Its looking good that counts , not " W's ". 

[libermaniac]

Really must emphasize that Rob Williams averaged almost as many fouls per 36 minutes as he did blocks.

That’s not a bad thing. I’d guess that every center in the league averaged more fouls than blocks.

[Spicoli]

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.

Didn't say he was the player Dwight was, i'm saying he's as good a shot blocker.

[Spicoli]

He can dunk and block shots. That’s it. There are like 12 other important skills in basketball (passing, dribbling, rebounding, etc). Oh, and he has a poor motor; got winded easily last year.

He's a good passer from what i've seen of him so far.