What I like about Shelden Williams

[footey]

I know he does not have BBD's hands (even after one of them is broken!), but Sheldon is a better rebounder than BBD, and probably is a better rebounder than Powe.  He also appears to be as good a free throw shooter as Powe, and is able to draw contact. He seems very committed to the defensive end, hustling hard to get back on transition.  He seems to be able to pick up the defensive rotations pretty well, and in that sense has a higher basketball IQ than Powe, who struggled alot learning them.  He will never have Powe's inside offensive moves, or Baby's offensive court awareness or outside shot, but he does fulfill needs (rebounds, defense, good foul shooter, ability to draw contact) that could be real assets for this team in limited minutes.  Overall, I am pretty happy with his performance so far.

How about you?

[EJPLAYA]

I was actually going to go in and start a new thread on Williams so TP to you for beating me to it!

I agree 100%. Through his limited minutes in the preseason and the start of this year I have seen nothing but impressive overall play out of this kid. He seems to ALWAYS be around the ball for a rebound on both ends of the floor. He doesn't try to do more than he should offensively. He knocks the jumper down with at least as good a percentage as BBD does. He has solid post moves around the basket. (see that up and under move last night when he was trapped low) He plays very hard defense and fouls when it is appropriate. He definitely has a solid basketball IQ.

I think that BBD may find himself even farther down the bench once he returns if Shelden continues to play at this level. We won't miss a beat. He also may end up being a brilliant offseason pick up by DA.

[EJPLAYA]

 

[Bankshot]

Yeah, Shelden had a decent game against a lousy team.  He wasn't that good against the Cavs though.  Yeah, he's going to take Baby's minutes.

[ben]

I think he fits in really well as our team's fourth big.  Defends and rebounds well.

[Birdbrain]

He's always been tough and rebounded well so those that consider that most important attributes for a backup PF will probably be happy with him over BBD.  And with all the talent on the C's they really don't need BBD's all around game. A player such as Williams who can do a few important things well maybe a better fit.  This seems like a win/win scenario to me.  Let Williams get those minutes and if BBD comes back ready to play in a couple of months let them play it out and see who wants the minutes more.

[moiso]

I was very happy with him last night.  He didn't even look like a total stiff on offense.  He's really a smart rebounder and defender.  He'd be great if he had any athletic ability.

[Fafnir]

Yeah, Shelden had a decent game against a lousy team.  He wasn't that good against the Cavs though.  Yeah, he's going to take Baby's minutes.

If he learns the rotations well he might. Sheldon rebounds, and when you're the fourth big you have to hit the glass in your limited minutes.

We'll see how Baby comes back, he'll get his shot I'm sure. But I'm not sure how he'll respond after all the crap that's happened recently.

[Chris]

That he is not Minnie Moore, or POB.

Shelden is a prototypical journeyman, servicable big man.  If he is anything more than a 9th or 10th man when everyone is healthy, you are probably in trouble.  But if he needs to step in, you can feel comfortable that he is not going to hurt the team. 

[2short]

First off I was going to start a thread on the new 3!  But we can discuss Sheldon first.  Side note: great off season for danny!!
I am not picking on powe (who i love) or davis in anyway just pointing out what I see.
Sheldon has the defensive rotations down already better than Leon ever did.  He does not have the offensive post game of Leon but could improve.  Leon mainly scored/drew fouls through smarts, look at Perks progress from his first season  
Williams is a better rebounder than Davis without a doubt, Powe not sure as he was a great rebounder.  What Sheldon has is a 6'9" or so body with really long arms and he's athletic.  I'm not going to judge Williams until the end of the year as he is going to improve and the pt he is getting can only help.

How long is he under contract with us?

[Fafnir]

That he is not Minnie Moore, or POB.

Shelden is a prototypical journeyman, servicable big man.  If he is anything more than a 9th or 10th man when everyone is healthy, you are probably in trouble.  But if he needs to step in, you can feel comfortable that he is not going to hurt the team. 

Pretty much the same as BBD. Though BBD has the potential to become more, stupid injury.

I was really eager to see how he came of the bench to start this season.

[EJPLAYA]

He's always been tough and rebounded well so those that consider that most important attributes for a backup PF will probably be happy with him over BBD.  And with all the talent on the C's they really don't need BBD's all around game. A player such as Williams who can do a few important things well maybe a better fit.  This seems like a win/win scenario to me.  Let Williams get those minutes and if BBD comes back ready to play in a couple of months let them play it out and see who wants the minutes more.

This thread was meant to be a compliment about Williams, not a bashing of BBD however just like the POWE and BBD threads in the past it kind of has to come into play.

Interesting how someone would ever want their PF to be tough defensively and rebound well. What kind of idiot fans are out there?! Your "all around game" label of BBD is hilarious since he is a PF who can't rebound, can't block shots, can't score in the low post due to absolutely no vertical yet can't defend on the perimter. So you basically have a PF who is a decent outside shooter, a decent passer, and is a solid defender against huge men in the post since he weighs a ton (which may not still be the case as he dropped a bunch of weight to his credit). Not really sure how you get "all around game" out of that.

I will take a decent shooter, decent low post player, tough defender, and very good rebounder as my backup to the backup big ANY DAY OF THE WEEK! Shelden is the perfect blend of Powe and BBD.

[Fafnir]

Sheldon is not a blend of Power/BBD at all!

He's an awful awful offensive player. BBD/Powe are both solid offensive options, in different ways.

Sheldon is a more typical 4th/5th big.

[asterix]

First off I was going to start a thread on the new 3!  But we can discuss Sheldon first.  Side note: great off season for danny!!
I am not picking on powe (who i love) or davis in anyway just pointing out what I see.
Sheldon has the defensive rotations down already better than Leon ever did.  He does not have the offensive post game of Leon but could improve.  Leon mainly scored/drew fouls through smarts, look at Perks progress from his first season  
Williams is a better rebounder than Davis without a doubt, Powe not sure as he was a great rebounder.  What Sheldon has is a 6'9" or so body with really long arms and he's athletic.  I'm not going to judge Williams until the end of the year as he is going to improve and the pt he is getting can only help.

How long is he under contract with us?

just this season for Vet min - about 800K$ according to hoopshype

[Brickowski]

1. He's healthy
2. He rebounds

That's what I like.  The rest of his game is unimpressive, although I did see some improvement last night.  Let's hope it continues.