Robert Williams III Offensive Abilities

[Somebody]

Just a reminder of how good Robert Williams was when given minutes in the bubble:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ju9aPUMxNQ

My favorite Celtic.

Mine too. Just needs to stay healthy. Robert Williams is so talented.

For centers 23 years or younger (admittedly Jokic, Porzingis, Towns and Sabonis are in the 24/25 age group), I take Robert Williams over Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr, Mitchell Robinson, Ivica Zubac, Mo Bamba, Thomas Bryant and Jayson Hayes. The only guys I would trade Williams for in that category are Adebayo and Ayton (excluding draftees Wiseman or Okongwu).

That is some of the most blinding homerism I've ever seen.

I just see lots of potential in Robert Williams.
Of our unproven yougsters on rookie contracts (Pritchard, Edwards, Langford, Nesmith, G.Williams, R.Williams) I have the most faith in Robert Williams to become an above average starting player in the NBA.

Let him play through his mistakes and he may really blossom. A center with that kind of athletism, wingspan, hustle, passing ability and shooting potential is rare.

I see a lot of potential in him as well, but come on he hasn't shown it on the court consistently yet, the lads you mentioned have at least done that to some extent (sure they did it on poor teams, but Williams hasn't looked as convincing as most of them in his limited minutes with good teammates who fit well with his skillset).

[tstorey_97]

We are all rooting for Robert. At the moment he is the "king of the flash" of brilliance.

I'm not a basketball coach. All I know is that Theis "gets all the minutes". Is it Steven's fault...he doesn't like Robert? No, he needs Robert to be good.

Robert doesn't get minutes because he struggles on defense.

Year 1 and early year 2, Robert would "watch the game"... when Smart was on the floor with Robert, Marcus would be chirping at Robert and involving him in the game at all times...passing...shooting etc. This worked, but it is Robert's job to "be in the game."

Smart, however, needs Robert to play the defense as called and that isn't happening all the time.

Steven's in a dozen interviews throughout his career in Boston...

Reporter: "Brad what did you learn in this preseason game?"

Stevens: "Well, stuff we can't learn in practice and that is which one of our players is the other team going to attack. It is the opposing coach's job to identify and attack your weaknesses and they do."

In the NFL, the starting cornerback goes out with an injury and the "new cornerback" comes in. Opposing offensive coordinator calls the play that attacks the "new cornerback".

Robert enters the game, opposing coach is on him in a second.

Opposing teams attack Theis all the time. Robert isn't alone, but Thies is still walking around with Robert's minutes in his pocket.

 

[footey]

Just a reminder of how good Robert Williams was when given minutes in the bubble:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ju9aPUMxNQ

My favorite Celtic.

Mine too. Just needs to stay healthy. Robert Williams is so talented.

For centers 23 years or younger (admittedly Jokic, Porzingis, Towns and Sabonis are in the 24/25 age group), I take Robert Williams over Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr, Mitchell Robinson, Ivica Zubac, Mo Bamba, Thomas Bryant and Jayson Hayes. The only guys I would trade Williams for in that category are Adebayo and Ayton (excluding draftees Wiseman or Okongwu).

That is some of the most blinding homerism I've ever seen.

I just see lots of potential in Robert Williams.
Of our unproven yougsters on rookie contracts (Pritchard, Edwards, Langford, Nesmith, G.Williams, R.Williams) I have the most faith in Robert Williams to become an above average starting player in the NBA.

Let him play through his mistakes and he may really blossom. A center with that kind of athletism, wingspan, hustle, passing ability and shooting potential is rare.

I see a lot of potential in him as well, but come on he hasn't shown it on the court consistently yet, the lads you mentioned have at least done that to some extent (sure they did it on poor teams, but Williams hasn't looked as convincing as most of them in his limited minutes with good teammates who fit well with his skillset).

He has only played in 61 regular season games. That is about 3/4 of one season.  That has to factor into where he is development wise.

[gouki88]

Just a reminder of how good Robert Williams was when given minutes in the bubble:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ju9aPUMxNQ

My favorite Celtic.

Mine too. Just needs to stay healthy. Robert Williams is so talented.

For centers 23 years or younger (admittedly Jokic, Porzingis, Towns and Sabonis are in the 24/25 age group), I take Robert Williams over Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr, Mitchell Robinson, Ivica Zubac, Mo Bamba, Thomas Bryant and Jayson Hayes. The only guys I would trade Williams for in that category are Adebayo and Ayton (excluding draftees Wiseman or Okongwu).

That is some of the most blinding homerism I've ever seen.

Maybe.

But who among those guys he would take Robert over would you take over Robert?

Almost all of them tbh . Only guy who I feel that it's somewhat arguable is Mo Bamba.

Robert outplayed Jared Allen in the bubble. The talent difference was palpable.
WCJ is the most over-rated center on this board.  He may turn out to be decent, but to date he has performed well below expectations.
Mitchell Robinson has worse BBIQ than Robert; he's not even able to get start on that awful Knicks lineup.
Zubac is better than Robert now especially on the offensive end, but it's at least debatable who will fit in better for our team in the long run.
Mo Bamba? Please. He can't get burn on the Magic!!
Bryant is better right now than Robert, but Robert has much more upside. Still I'm not offended if you would prefer Bryant.
Hayes was a huge disappointment his rookie year. So bad that the Pels felt compelled to over pay for Adams to come in as their center. He seems destined to be a career back up.  I liked him in the draft, but so far he has been a huge disappointment.

RWill was not even remotely close to Allen’s level of play in the bubble. Allen averaged 16/11/4 with his usual good rim protection in the regular season games. He then averaged 10/15/2/2 in the playoffs.
You might think WCJ is overrated, but he’s a walking double-double who, despite being often injured, is more durable than RWill, who is made of glass.
Despite not being able to start on that Knicks team (pretty arbitrary given he plays more than one of their starting bigs) he produces elite shot-blocking and all-time elite FG%.
Zubac is okay but his defence sucks.
Mo Bamba & Hayes are players I see as equal to or worse than RWill.
Bryant is clearly better.

[Jvalin]

Problem with Timelord is his defense, not his offense. He's a terrific rim protector, but he ain't got the lateral quickness to play D on the perimeter.

The way our pick n roll defense works, Theis meets the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and denies penetration. Timelord can't switch ball screens on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the paint. Imo, this is the one thing that holds him back. Our defensive plan is based on switching ball screens. Whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive plan. If he were a better perimeter defender, I fully believe he would have already become our starting Center.

[gouki88]

Problem with Timelord is his defense, not his offense. He's a terrific rim protector, but he ain't got the lateral quickness to play D on the perimeter.

The way our pick n roll defense works, Theis meets the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and denies penetration. Timelord can't switch ball screens on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the paint. Imo, this is the one thing that holds him back. Our defensive plan is based on switching ball screens. Whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive plan. If he were a better perimeter defender, I fully believe he would have already become our starting Center.

I've always wondered if that could stem from his hip issues. Or at least be related to it

[footey]

Just a reminder of how good Robert Williams was when given minutes in the bubble:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ju9aPUMxNQ

My favorite Celtic.

Mine too. Just needs to stay healthy. Robert Williams is so talented.

For centers 23 years or younger (admittedly Jokic, Porzingis, Towns and Sabonis are in the 24/25 age group), I take Robert Williams over Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr, Mitchell Robinson, Ivica Zubac, Mo Bamba, Thomas Bryant and Jayson Hayes. The only guys I would trade Williams for in that category are Adebayo and Ayton (excluding draftees Wiseman or Okongwu).

That is some of the most blinding homerism I've ever seen.

Maybe.

But who among those guys he would take Robert over would you take over Robert?

Almost all of them tbh . Only guy who I feel that it's somewhat arguable is Mo Bamba.

Robert outplayed Jared Allen in the bubble. The talent difference was palpable.
WCJ is the most over-rated center on this board.  He may turn out to be decent, but to date he has performed well below expectations.
Mitchell Robinson has worse BBIQ than Robert; he's not even able to get start on that awful Knicks lineup.
Zubac is better than Robert now especially on the offensive end, but it's at least debatable who will fit in better for our team in the long run.
Mo Bamba? Please. He can't get burn on the Magic!!
Bryant is better right now than Robert, but Robert has much more upside. Still I'm not offended if you would prefer Bryant.
Hayes was a huge disappointment his rookie year. So bad that the Pels felt compelled to over pay for Adams to come in as their center. He seems destined to be a career back up.  I liked him in the draft, but so far he has been a huge disappointment.

RWill was not even remotely close to Allen’s level of play in the bubble. Allen averaged 16/11/4 with his usual good rim protection in the regular season games. He then averaged 10/15/2/2 in the playoffs.
You might think WCJ is overrated, but he’s a walking double-double who, despite being often injured, is more durable than RWill, who is made of glass.
Despite not being able to start on that Knicks team (pretty arbitrary given he plays more than one of their starting bigs) he produces elite shot-blocking and all-time elite FG%.
Zubac is okay but his defence sucks.
Mo Bamba & Hayes are players I see as equal to or worse than RWill.
Bryant is clearly better.

Re Allen, I was talking about their one game head to head. My recollection is that Time Lord owned him. 

I'm too exhausted defending re the other guys; matter of opinion.  I realize you still like WCJ a lot, I don't.  RW being made of glass, rough start, let's give it more time. He has been pretty healthy since bubble return. Re Robinson's elite shot blocking and FG percentage, really the same attributes of Time Lord. Time Lord is a much better passer, has better court vision.  The both are prone to same mistakes defensively. 

[Jvalin]

Problem with Timelord is his defense, not his offense. He's a terrific rim protector, but he ain't got the lateral quickness to play D on the perimeter.

The way our pick n roll defense works, Theis meets the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and denies penetration. Timelord can't switch ball screens on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the paint. Imo, this is the one thing that holds him back. Our defensive plan is based on switching ball screens. Whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive plan. If he were a better perimeter defender, I fully believe he would have already become our starting Center.

I've always wondered if that could stem from his hip issues. Or at least be related to it

Hard to say. In all honesty, I don't think he can become a good perimeter defender. I mean, can you think of a player who drastically improved his lateral quickness? To a large extent, either you got it or you don't.

Personally speaking, I'm OK with moving on from Timelord. Don't get me wrong, he's a very promising prospect. Unfortunately, he ain't a good fit in our defensive system.

[gouki88]

Problem with Timelord is his defense, not his offense. He's a terrific rim protector, but he ain't got the lateral quickness to play D on the perimeter.

The way our pick n roll defense works, Theis meets the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and denies penetration. Timelord can't switch ball screens on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the paint. Imo, this is the one thing that holds him back. Our defensive plan is based on switching ball screens. Whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive plan. If he were a better perimeter defender, I fully believe he would have already become our starting Center.

I've always wondered if that could stem from his hip issues. Or at least be related to it

Hard to say. In all honesty, I don't think he can become a good perimeter defender. I mean, can you think of a player who drastically improved his lateral quickness? To a large extent, either you got it or you don't.

Personally speaking, I'm OK with moving on from Timelord. Don't get me wrong, he's a very promising prospect. Unfortunately, he ain't a good fit in our defensive system.

He should go the Roy Hibbert / Emeka Okafor route and just put on a tonne of weight and become a goliath.

[Neurotic Guy]

Just wanted to provide some praise here for Rob’s energy last night v. Indiana.   If this is the guy we start to see night in and night out, I’ll be ecstatic.   He overplayed at times defensively, but fought for the ball on the boards and, as always, when he sniffs the hoop he goes up like a pogo stick.

2 big moments (to me) last night - Rob defending the out of bounds pass near the end of the 4th - disruptive energy, jumping and bouncing and using that wingspan. And the steal - great anticipation, no hesitation when he got the ball - hard to the hoop. Clutch play - important hoop.

Also nice 18-footer - didn’t hesitate and sunk it.

Rob with that energy every night will start making big plays every night.  More minutes and he’ll figure more out.  Can’t get down on himself or get his head out of the game as seems to happen with him.  He needs to have it in his head - energy - every play.  Brad needs to get him more involved offensively. 

[ScoobyDoo]

I'd rather figure out a way  to compensate, work around Williams perimeter issues than see us constantly getting thrown around underneath and mauled on the glass when it matters most. There can't only be one way to play NBA defense. A good/great coach should be able to game plan around Robert Williams defensive strengths. He is the only player on this team with the ability to have a meaningful impact in the paint on both ends of the floor.

He should be getting 20-25 minutes every night - maybe more if he's got it going. At some point you have to invest game time minutes in him. Let him make the mistakes and grow on the job, get the confidence he needs. Theis and Thompson are not guys that are going to take us to the promised land. So if you're not going to invest heavily in Time Lord's development you might as well package him and Theis or Thompson, or all three guys for one truly dominant player at the PF or Center spot if you can. But again of our three centers only Time Lord has "Impact" potential. Theis and Thompson are journey men centers who play really hard but ultimately don't cut it. Time Lord has shown more than enough to gain my confidence.   

if Ainge and Stevens had the mental horse power, with all the picks and assets they've had the last three years, to sign, draft or trade for a single Power forward that could be a stretch four on this team (our current PF rotation is exactly "zero", we have no power forwards on this team) and put that guy next to Time Lord we'd be nearly unstoppable. Instead we have a bunch of small forwards playing PF and two undersized centers in Theis and Thompson.

Time Lord | Thompson
Solid stretch four | Theis
Tatum | Semi (Oh yeah, we need a wing too)
Brown | Smart
Kemba | Teague

That lineup would be deadly.

Could we sign Ersan Illyasova? His per 36 numbers last year weren't bad. 15 points, 11 boards with a 119/102 O/D rating. Probably more helpful than Carsen Edwards. Unless Ainge is grooming him for the back up center position... 

[Somebody]

Problem with Timelord is his defense, not his offense. He's a terrific rim protector, but he ain't got the lateral quickness to play D on the perimeter.

The way our pick n roll defense works, Theis meets the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and denies penetration. Timelord can't switch ball screens on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the paint. Imo, this is the one thing that holds him back. Our defensive plan is based on switching ball screens. Whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive plan. If he were a better perimeter defender, I fully believe he would have already become our starting Center.

I've always wondered if that could stem from his hip issues. Or at least be related to it

Hard to say. In all honesty, I don't think he can become a good perimeter defender. I mean, can you think of a player who drastically improved his lateral quickness? To a large extent, either you got it or you don't.

Personally speaking, I'm OK with moving on from Timelord. Don't get me wrong, he's a very promising prospect. Unfortunately, he ain't a good fit in our defensive system.

He should go the Roy Hibbert / Emeka Okafor route and just put on a tonne of weight and become a goliath.

Think his lateral quickness is fine - he's no slouch out there and his lack of elite speed on the perimeter looks more like a comfort issue rather than an ability issue. Just needs to get comfortable in turning his hips fluidly and shuffling his feet imo.

[Neurotic Guy]

Problem with Timelord is his defense, not his offense. He's a terrific rim protector, but he ain't got the lateral quickness to play D on the perimeter.

The way our pick n roll defense works, Theis meets the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and denies penetration. Timelord can't switch ball screens on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the paint. Imo, this is the one thing that holds him back. Our defensive plan is based on switching ball screens. Whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive plan. If he were a better perimeter defender, I fully believe he would have already become our starting Center.

I've always wondered if that could stem from his hip issues. Or at least be related to it

Hard to say. In all honesty, I don't think he can become a good perimeter defender. I mean, can you think of a player who drastically improved his lateral quickness? To a large extent, either you got it or you don't.

Personally speaking, I'm OK with moving on from Timelord. Don't get me wrong, he's a very promising prospect. Unfortunately, he ain't a good fit in our defensive system.

He should go the Roy Hibbert / Emeka Okafor route and just put on a tonne of weight and become a goliath.

Think his lateral quickness is fine - he's no slouch out there and his lack of elite speed on the perimeter looks more like a comfort issue rather than an ability issue. Just needs to get comfortable in turning his hips fluidly and shuffling his feet imo.

I think you are right.  Williams still has a certain clumsiness about him - something you see in a lot of guys who’ve grown too tall too quickly for their coordination to catch up to their bodies.  I’m not saying he’s not coordinated- I think his hand-eye is great and he pops like a pogo stick when he’s got the ball near the hoop.  But he also gets awkward Bambi legs sometimes and finds himself slipping to the floor after a complex body move. I really think his body needs more game speed repetition to get more solid and fluid in his body movement.   I’d love to see him get the start and Thompson come off the bench. 

[NKY fan]

Ryan McDonough @McDNBA
about 15 minutes ago
The Boston Celtics will exercise the team options for Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Romeo Langford, per NBA sources.

Timelord option finally picked! Cant believe Ainge had to wait till the very last second