Rookie Robert Williams learning as he goes

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20181030/celtics-journal-rookie-robert-williams-learning-as-he-goes




Rookie Robert Williams learning as he goes




By SCOTT SOUZA / The MetroWest Daily News



Posted Oct 30, 2018 at 9:05 PM  




BOSTON — The introduction of Robert Williams to Boston was about as shaky as they come for a recent first-round NBA draft pick.

A forgotten conference call, a missed flight that led to a missed first practice, a lost wallet, and a knee injury that cost him all but six minutes of summer league marked the rookie’s first few weeks in the NBA.

The feeling at the time was that the Celtics would have to keep a close eye on the 21-year-old if they were to have any hope the big man’s potential would not turn into a throwaway pick at the 27th spot in the draft.

Only that’s not exactly what’s happened in the months that followed. While the Celtics put in place a program that Williams could follow — as they would with any rookie — Williams said they have left it up to him to manage himself both personally and professionally.

“There really wasn’t a structure,” he said prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden. “You know you’ve got a job to do. You have great examples. But they aren’t telling me: ‘Follow me. Do what I do. Look at my everyday moves.’

“It’s something where I’ve got to [take it upon myself to] watch them. At the end of the day, it’s a job. I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job of that, as well as they’ve been doing a great job of leading.”

Among those examples are veterans Aron Baynes and Al Horford.

“I am pretty sure they know they’re my mentors,” he said. “But they don’t say: ‘Come tag along.’ Even though that’s not the case, they are my mentors just by the way they carry themselves every day.”

Williams said it was his decision to get an apartment across the street from the new Red Auerbach Center in Brighton. While the proximity makes it easier to avoid obstacles that would make him late for a practice or a meeting, he said it also helps him fill the gaps in the schedule of an NBA player when his mind could potentially wander, leading to trouble.

“When I get angry, and I just want to shoot [baskets], the gym is right there,” he said. “It’s a two-minute walk. It’s right there. Some guys have to leave hours before to get there [with traffic]. For me, it’s right there. So I feel it was a great move for me to move into those apartments.”

Williams entered Tuesday night’s game having logged just 11 minutes over two games in the first six of the season, but could be in line for more time with center Daniel Theis out indefinitely with a tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot.

“We’ve got a lot of good players — and certainly [we do] at that position,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before the game. “I don’t see that he and Baynes will play much together. He could certainly play with Al some as Al shifts to the [power forward spot]. Baynes can play with Al some. But then that knocks somebody else out of it. Or somebody’s minutes out of it.

“It’s just something that, as those times come, he needs to stay the course and take advantage of those opportunities. We’re thrilled with the progress he’s made. And we do think as time goes on he can really help us. He’s had a great attitude about everything. I think he’s learned a lot from Al and Baynes and Daniel.”

Williams said his plan is to continue to do just that as he attempts to put his unceremonious first weeks as an NBA player behind him.

“It’s a lot of learning — a lot of learning,” he said. “Way, way, way more learning than we deserve. But it’s definitely worth it.”


Better than expected

Theis was in a walking boot on his right foot when he met briefly with reporters following Tuesday’s morning shootaround at the Auerbach Center.

He said he’d experienced discomfort in the foot going back to last year, then heard a pop during Saturday night’s game in Detroit. He said the diagnosis of a “slight tear” was actually more optimistic than he initially feared and that he was told he would be reevaluated after wearing the boot for the next two weeks. ...

Baynes returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with a strained right hamstring.



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