How will Robert Williams' First Season Play Out?

We haven't seen much of Robert Williams yet.  We got just a whiff of him during the Summer League.  The pre-season has now been shortened to only four games and Robert Williams did not play in a single one of them.  Now we are almost half way through November and have played thirteen regular season games.

It has been said that the early October regular season games are an extension of pre-season.  That is because many teams put a rather poor product on the court, but they still count.  That is a double edge sword for teams like ours.  We came into the new season with three rotation players coming back from injury; Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis.  It seems that those three players were not quite ready for the season to start.

Kyrie seems to be the closest to being back at full strength.  Theis seemed to have recovered, but then he went down and last night he was back.  Is his injury going to be bothersome for the rest of the season?  Hayward is surely not back to full strength, but it seems that Brad Stevens is using game time (regardless of the results) to get Gordan up and going.

But I digress.  Robert Williams.

How will his season play out?  Will he spend most of this season getting the bulk of his playing time up in Maine?  Will he learn the ropes later in the season and become a welcomed big off the bench during the playoffs?  Or is it somewhere in between and he starts to get it around the All-Star break?

Some of us here had discussed this question over the summer and we decided to make a bet.  The results of the bet would be that the losers would buy the winners a beer of their choice when (and if) we meet at a board get-together sometime in the spring.  By the way, we are in the preliminary stages to do just that.  Sometime in the late regular season or early playoffs, we would like to get together in Boston, early to mid April.

I don't know how the winners could be decided in a three-way contest, so I will keep it simple and make it a choice of all or nothing.  Please feel free to vote and then create a post that puts you clearly on one side or the other in this contest.  You can also join in the poll and opt out of the bet.  You may not be able to get to Boston for the payoff of the bet, but we still would like to see how everyone thinks this will play out.

So, tell us two things.  First, how will his season play out, and Second, are you in on the bet?

With that said, here is where he is to date:

I'll get it started.

I'm in.

1.  Robert Williams will spend most of this season getting the bulk of his playing time up in Maine.

He has not gotten a glimpse of playing time yet, even though we clearly need someone to patrol the paint this season.  We have Horford, Baynes and Theis as our bigs and we should be protecting Horford somewhat throughout the regular season in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

Baynes is a good player, but he is not quick enough at times against the modern bigs that we have seen so far.  Theis has been in, out and back in the lineup and I don't expect that to change, unfortunately.  Still, Robert Williams has not gotten much, if any, playing time in this young season.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited about the Celtics having picked Robert Williams in the draft, I just think it is too much of a leap from college and the G-League to the NBA for him to learn the ropes with so little practice time against the metal of the league.  He is too raw and for this season, it is all too soon in his career for him to contribute.

gyso

I think Williams has some useful capabilities, but more seasoned coaches than I (I have never been a coach at any level) think he's won't be able to hold his own if given important minutes. So I assume that's how it will play out. As he gets more practices, including in Maine, he may slowly increase his time on court, but we won't see much of him until next year.

TheHat

gyso

I had to go with the first option. I made that choice with my head and not my heart.

It is impossible to envision Williams getting playing time with the current depth on the roster. With theis back, it further closes even limited opportunities. I think you would have to have an injury to Horford or Baynes in order for Williams to play. I think Williams has an obvious upside as a rebounder and defender and as a guy that could get some points at the rim.

I’m definitely in on the bet. (Very hard for me not to bet on almost anything)

Williams will get most of his playing time in Maine and will not be a factor for us in the playoffs.

In another year or two he may be a rotation contributor, and I hope he is, but not this year.

Big off the bench; he's too good for Maine and we need a big who can board. Just a question of time, I think, until Brad starts giving him minutes.

The beer bet gyso was referring to was, of course, me!

Williams' time in Boston whether sitting on the bench or gaining minutes will likely be determined by injuries to guys like Horford, Baynes, etc.

He is not ready yet, but maybe forced playing time will help make him better faster.