Irving Building Bond with C’s Rookie Williams: ‘I Love Playing with Rob’

https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/post-121918-irving-building-bond-celtics-rookie-williams-i-love-playing-rob?sf204637577=1








Irving Building Bond with C’s Rookie Williams: ‘I Love Playing with Rob’



By Taylor C. Snow |  @taylorcsnow
Celtics.com
December 20, 2018



BOSTON – As Robert Williams continues to earn more playing time for the Boston Celtics, one realization continues to grow clearer for Kyrie Irving: he loves playing alongside this rookie big man.

Williams has stepped up to the plate for an injury-plagued Celtics front court of late, providing phenomenal energy and effort for the C’s, all while beginning to establish strong chemistry with their All-Star point guard.

That bond grew even stronger against the Suns Wednesday night, after Aron Baynes exited with a hand injury. Baynes, who was later diagnosed with a fractured metacarpal in his left hand, joined Al Horford (sore left knee), Marcus Morris (sore right knee) and Guerschon Yabusele (sprained right ankle) on the lengthy list of injured Celtics big men, forcing coach Brad Stevens to count upon Williams for 24 minutes of play.

Although his Celtics would wind up losing to the Phoenix Suns, 111-103, Williams provided plenty of positivity at TD Garden, where he tallied eight points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots off the bench. He also shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including a pair of dunks – one on an alley-oop and one following a dribble hand-off – that were both set up by his newest fan.

“I’ve played with quite a few bigs,” Irving noted after the game while describing his newfound relationship with Williams. “I had Timofey Mozgov and Tristan (Thompson) in Cleveland. When I was in college (at Duke), I had Mason and Miles Plumlee. So, having a consistent lob threat at the rim where you can throw it around the rim and he can go and get it… you can see how easy it is for me and Rob. When I’m going in and people are stepping up on me, he’s always a threat at the rim for offensive rebounds and lobs. So, I love playing with Rob.”

Most of the praise that Williams has received this season has been directed toward his rim-protecting ability, so having his offensive contributions lauded by one of the best playmakers in the NBA is quite a promising sign toward his growth as a two-way player.

With that being said, Williams still has much work to do on the offensive end of the court, as he continues to grow more comfortable within the Celtics’ system.

Coach Brad Stevens noted a few instances from Wednesday night’s game where Williams may have been a bit tentative while the C's were on the attack, but Stevens believes that the 21-year-old will eventually gain confidence and be able to deliver more consistently.

“I thought that he had some opportunities on offense that he’ll make plays with when he gets a little more used to the game and used to playing with those other guys,” said the coach. “[The Suns] were not paying a whole lot of attention to him on the perimeter and in the seams, and those are plays that he can make on that end of the floor.”

While Williams has to get used to playing with his teammates, they also have to grow accustomed to playing with him. That includes being prepared to grab loose balls and rebounds while he’s roaming the paint, blocking shots like a fly swatter.

“Us as guards, when we’re missing guys, we have to help Rob rebound as well,” said Irving, who logged 29 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals against the Suns. “He’s contesting and trying to go for every block, and our weak side crashing in and helping him out is just as important as him going for the rebound. That’s part of being on a team where we all have to cover each other.”

Just like how Williams will have to help cover for Baynes, now that the veteran big man will be sidelined for an extended period of time.

“It’s terrible,” Williams said of Baynes’ broken hand. “Everybody wants and needs a Baynes on their team. But we’ve just gotta step up – next man up.”

Irving firmly believes that Rob is the right man for the job.

“He does a lot of great things already,” Irving said. “So, I think the sky is the limit for his potential and what he brings to our team.”




bob
MY NOTE:  There are some issues with his defensive spacing, but that's a learning curve thing and his offensive game, obviously, is  modeled after DeAndre Jordan's but at #27?  Damn, what a steal, the steal of the draft!!



.

At the beginning of the game last night I saw Irving giving a major HUG to one of our players. It happened so fast that I did not see who it was as they cut away to a commercial. Anyone see this? Was it Jaylen? Or was it Williams? Actually it looked too short to be Williams.
Just curious. Everyone is behind this kid, the crowd gave him a big applause coming out of the game for the first time. I just can't wrap my head around what has happened to Jaylen. Puzzled completely.

Rosalie,
I believe it was one of the Suns players.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Rosalie,
I believe it was one of the Suns players.

AK

Rosalie and Sinus,

I believe it was Booker.


bob


.

It was Jamal Crawford he hugged.

bobheckler wrote:https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/post-121918-irving-building-bond-celtics-rookie-williams-i-love-playing-rob?sf204637577=1








Irving Building Bond with C’s Rookie Williams: ‘I Love Playing with Rob’



By Taylor C. Snow |  @taylorcsnow
Celtics.com
December 20, 2018



BOSTON – As Robert Williams continues to earn more playing time for the Boston Celtics, one realization continues to grow clearer for Kyrie Irving: he loves playing alongside this rookie big man.

Williams has stepped up to the plate for an injury-plagued Celtics front court of late, providing phenomenal energy and effort for the C’s, all while beginning to establish strong chemistry with their All-Star point guard.

That bond grew even stronger against the Suns Wednesday night, after Aron Baynes exited with a hand injury. Baynes, who was later diagnosed with a fractured metacarpal in his left hand, joined Al Horford (sore left knee), Marcus Morris (sore right knee) and Guerschon Yabusele (sprained right ankle) on the lengthy list of injured Celtics big men, forcing coach Brad Stevens to count upon Williams for 24 minutes of play.

Although his Celtics would wind up losing to the Phoenix Suns, 111-103, Williams provided plenty of positivity at TD Garden, where he tallied eight points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots off the bench. He also shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including a pair of dunks – one on an alley-oop and one following a dribble hand-off – that were both set up by his newest fan.

“I’ve played with quite a few bigs,” Irving noted after the game while describing his newfound relationship with Williams. “I had Timofey Mozgov and Tristan (Thompson) in Cleveland. When I was in college (at Duke), I had Mason and Miles Plumlee. So, having a consistent lob threat at the rim where you can throw it around the rim and he can go and get it… you can see how easy it is for me and Rob. When I’m going in and people are stepping up on me, he’s always a threat at the rim for offensive rebounds and lobs. So, I love playing with Rob.”

Most of the praise that Williams has received this season has been directed toward his rim-protecting ability, so having his offensive contributions lauded by one of the best playmakers in the NBA is quite a promising sign toward his growth as a two-way player.

With that being said, Williams still has much work to do on the offensive end of the court, as he continues to grow more comfortable within the Celtics’ system.

Coach Brad Stevens noted a few instances from Wednesday night’s game where Williams may have been a bit tentative while the C's were on the attack, but Stevens believes that the 21-year-old will eventually gain confidence and be able to deliver more consistently.

“I thought that he had some opportunities on offense that he’ll make plays with when he gets a little more used to the game and used to playing with those other guys,” said the coach. “[The Suns] were not paying a whole lot of attention to him on the perimeter and in the seams, and those are plays that he can make on that end of the floor.”

While Williams has to get used to playing with his teammates, they also have to grow accustomed to playing with him. That includes being prepared to grab loose balls and rebounds while he’s roaming the paint, blocking shots like a fly swatter.

“Us as guards, when we’re missing guys, we have to help Rob rebound as well,” said Irving, who logged 29 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals against the Suns. “He’s contesting and trying to go for every block, and our weak side crashing in and helping him out is just as important as him going for the rebound. That’s part of being on a team where we all have to cover each other.”

Just like how Williams will have to help cover for Baynes, now that the veteran big man will be sidelined for an extended period of time.

“It’s terrible,” Williams said of Baynes’ broken hand. “Everybody wants and needs a Baynes on their team. But we’ve just gotta step up – next man up.”

Irving firmly believes that Rob is the right man for the job.

“He does a lot of great things already,” Irving said. “So, I think the sky is the limit for his potential and what he brings to our team.”




bob
MY NOTE:  There are some issues with his defensive spacing, but that's a learning curve thing and his offensive game, obviously, is  modeled after DeAndre Jordan's but at #27?  Damn, what a steal, the steal of the draft!!



.

So with Williams rooming the paint and even checking guys on the perimeter it requires other guys to hit the glass. The Celtics are not used to playing with a legit shoot blocking/paint defender who can and will extend his defense.

With last night's 5 blocks Robert "Time Lord" Williams moved from tied at 22nd to 14th place on the NBA block leader list.

Obviously a small sample size but 22 blocks in 14 games isn't too shabby.  If he keeps this up, 1.6 blocks/game, and he plays another 50 games he'll qualify for the league minimum of 100 blocks/season, and with Baynes out for a month or more he'll be getting more than the 8.8mpg he's averaging so far.  1.6 blocks in just 8.8 minutes.  If he doubles those minutes while Baynes is out, let's say he averages 17.6mpg and maintains the same efficiency, he'll be averaging 3.2 blocks/game over that period.  To put that in perspective the #1 shot blocker in the league is Hassan Whiteside at 2.9 blocks in 26.5 minutes/game.


bob



.

As word spreads around the league about RW shot blocking abilities he will be considered a true rim protector and teams will have to respect that

“The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.”
-- Bill Russell

"Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you've got him"
--Bill Russell

The second quote is very applicable to the concept of applying defensive pressure full court and 3/4 court.  Reduce their 24 second shot clock and the other team has to deviate from their habits.  It is difficult to implement this strategy with a short rotation but in a world of analytics it is often overlooked.

The Celtics are one of the few NBA teams that set historical differences on both offense and defense ( fastbreak basketball and pressure defense) The idea was to play faster at both ends than their opponents.

Great quotes from the Greatest.....thanks dboss.

Now, if they could get this kid to sit down for a few hours with Russell it would be wonderful. Unfortunately, Russ is beyond the big man coach stage in life. Sad, but true. Just listen to what he has to say and then do it.....

What a steal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Great quotes from the Greatest.....thanks dboss.

Now, if they could get this kid to sit down for a few hours with Russell it would be wonderful. Unfortunately, Russ is beyond the big man coach stage in life. Sad, but true. Just listen to what he has to say and then do it.....

What a steal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rosalie

Danny may have hit the jackpot at #27

The kid has a long way to go but the talent is certainly there and from what we are hearing he has a strong work ethic.

I do not think anyone can come close to the defensive abilities of Bill Russell but Williams may be the closest player we have seen from an athletic standpoint on the Celtics. He has that it factor. When he rotates in the game I find myself leaning forward. As his usage rate in the screen and role options increases he is going to score a lot of points in the paint.

Brad will also have him taking those elbow jumpers before long. Brad mentioned that he is not looking for his scoring opportunities. Right now I see him constantly setting screens to free up his teammates. He is a very unselfish young man.

Danny was interviewed and said he hated that nickname that someone came up with of Lob Bob. Wyc said on the tv last night that the smartest thing the kid did was to buy a condo right across from the practice facility. He is at the gym all the time, learning, watching film, practicing with the guys. So, for all that went on at the beginning of his career here, he is righting the wrongs and working hard. Got to love it.

It is funny, Jaylen works his rear off and practices so hard, but there is something going on there with his game. He sat a long time last night in the second half. We can't blame him for not being in shape, it has to be between the head sets. He has himself worked into a real funk. The crowd cheered him last night when he came out the first time, even the announcers noticed it. I thought that at the introductions last night, it was Kyrie hugging Brown before the game started. I know you guys said it was Crawford, or Booker. But the guy I
saw was in green.

Anyway, I said it last night, I think DA got a steal at 27 in last years draft. Here's hoping he continues to grow.

Rosalie

If Rob can handle Embiid Friday Danny may retire his number next week. That;s how difficult a task Time Lord faces.

You mean Giannis.   Embid is Christmas Day!!!!!!

Rosalie, Thanks for the info. I thought we played Philly Friday. Giannis will be a piece of baklava for Rob to handle. No sweat.