Celtics fans should expect Robert Williams in a limited role next year

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2019/07/26/celtics-fans-should-expect-robert-williams-in-a-limited-role-next-year/





Celtics fans should expect Robert Williams in a limited role next year




Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports


By: Quenton S. Albertie | 15 hours ago



For a time, Al Horford’s exit from the Boston Celtics brightened the spotlight placed on Robert Williams III, a neophyte forward-center who was known more for his extraordinary athleticism and his Marvel Universe-inspired nickname than his viability as quality big man.

This is, of course, before the Celtics signed scoring-minded Enes Kanter to be the team’s new starting center. Nonetheless, Williams’ shot-blocking prowess and above-the-rim ability makes him an intriguing option as a rotation player, whether a starter or in the second unit.

A bench role may have always been more likely for Williams — even without Kanter being signed — considering his inexperience, need to improve his defensive technique and lack of low-post moves. Yet, it appears that regardless of what role Williams plays for Boston next season, it’ll be a limited one.

Here’s what one anonymous Celtics front office executive had to say about Williams, per Keith Smith of CelticsBlog:

“We knew he was a project when we drafted him, but a worthy one. Sometimes a project gets tossed early, but Robert is a guy we’ll go the distance with. Word of warning: Don’t put too much on this kid too early. We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”

Considered a project player by the Celtics, its particularly notable that Boston signed at least two players who could beat out Williams for a spot in the rotation in Kanter and Daniel Theis, who the Celtics used in a backup role last season.

It’s also interesting to see that despite losing both Horford and the burly Aron Baynes this offseason, Boston has as many centers as they did last season, with French center Vincent Poirier joining the frontcourt. If the Celtics should sign Tacko Fall to the 15-man roster they’ll have more centers than last season.

That fact alone seemed to lend credence to the belief that Boston is wary about expecting too much of Williams in what may become his first season as a rotation player.

Clearly, Williams still has plenty to learn. He has just as much to prove.

According to a member of the Celtics’ coaching staff, Williams “was good” in the Las Vegas Summer League, a series of exhibitions that Williams looked forward to as an opportunity to prove himself in the wake of Horford’s departure and after his Summer League debut was cut short due to a knee injury last year.

“Not dominant, but good.”

“He was under control as a defender,” said the Celtics coach. “His rebounding was better than ever. Offense is coming.”

Overall though, Williams is still a “work in progress.”

Williams averaged 9.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals in 19.6 minutes per game in this year’s Summer League, numbers that nearly double per 36 minutes and provides a statistical snapshot of just how dominant he could be with starter minutes. Yet, experience will be extremely beneficial for Williams, particularly in his efforts to practice being a vocal leader on the court.

A major skill for any defensive anchor.

While the jury is still out on what kind of player Willians will be, the potential, work ethic and coachability he’s shown to this point will get him minutes. What he does with those minutes will be up to him but to have any chance at being a major rotation piece, the second-year pro will have to make plays like a veteran.



bob
MY NOTE:  A sobering assessment by the Celtic coach.  "Not dominant, but good".  He missed summer league and camp last year, major losses for him, but he did get 283 minutes last year (not including Maine), he should have been clearly better than most of the players he went up against since they have none of that.

This is also a damper, in my opinion, on Tacko Fall's prospects.  Will the Celtics really want to take on TWO project bigs?
"We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”  And that's not even including Tacko.


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If you were going to spend money and time on two projects, they may as well be bigs.

At least with these two, there are not too many overlapping skills, which eliminates any redundancy.  Even if they only get 10-12 minutes per game, other teams will have to react to their height and athleticism.

I am not so sure that R. Williams is not going to find a way onto the court for far more minutes this year than last.  His summer league performances appeared to show that he knows a lot more about where to be on the court than he did last season which may mean that his overall defense will be much improved.  His offense also looked better, but that was against summer league competition so we shall see what he does in training camp.  

Poirier and Theis may have more basketball experience than either Williams or Fall, but both have not proven themselves as NBA centers either on offense or defense as of yet.

Gyso, i cannot agree more with your thoughts relating to the idea if you have developmental players at the bottom (or near the bottom) that it make sense to have a guy(s) that are big in those spots.  The Cs have been getting busted by bigger teams in the league for quite some time now, and this year's team right now appears to be on the small side, too.

Watching RW in summer league I was impressed more by his improved passing/playmaking than his rebounding. In the game where he had all the rebounds,, mostly in the first half, an awful lot were completely uncontested when the opponent heaved up a quick 3 and nobody else, except other Celtics were around. The second half showed more contested rebounds. He appeared to be working on the Horford role in dishing from the high post. Not as many successes as I hoped for, but he seemed more comfortable and assertive there. It will be interesting to see if we get him on the court alongside Kanter against some teams.

I am not sure what limited means for this year because RW had a limited role and minutes per game last year at 8.8

I figured you got 25 MPG coming from Kanter.  That leaves 23 rotation minutes at the 5.  Theis will eat of some of those minutes in small ball lineups.  The unknown is VP.  Him and RW will likely compete for around 15-18 MPG at center.  However, RW role may also include minutes at PF when Boston roles out its big lineup.  There are a lot of top teams in the East with both size and mobility.  I doubt we will see a big lineup with Kanter and VP paired.  

Brad will often play to his matchups.   The center rotation gives him a lot of options.  

I am really looking forward to the season.

Oh,  I figure RW gets 16 MPG.

I think it's more of an all-or-nothing season for R Williams.

Rebuilding on the fly has become an NBA way of life. You can't take too long to become competitive. If R Williams isn't the heir apparent, and solution for minutes behind Kanter, there's no reason to go much further than this season with him. My guess is he's still the talent we hoped for, and just needs game time to rise to that level.

NYCelt wrote:I think it's more of an all-or-nothing season for R Williams.

Rebuilding on the fly has become an NBA way of life. You can't take too long to become competitive. If R Williams isn't the heir apparent, and solution for minutes behind Kanter, there's no reason to go much further than this season with him. My guess is he's still the talent we hoped for, and just needs game time to rise to that level.

NYCelt,

I must also agree with Dboss and disagree with you about this being an "all-or-nothing" year for R Williams.  He's a project.  They knew he was going to be a project when they drafted him and have reaffirmed that perspective recently.  Even if he was ready to contribute last year, which he wasn't, he still would have had to fight for minutes behind 3 better players (Horford, Baynes and Theis).  There is no way Williams, nor anybody else, would have been able to develop and show what they can be expected to do with their career when they are buried that deep on the depth chart.  Anybody, including Celtic management, who thought that he just needed one season in the oven to cook wasn't watching his blown defensive rotations.

I predict The Time Lord will not only be with us through this year he'll be with us through the next one and maybe the next two.  He showed the coaching staff an excellent work ethic this summer and nothing appeals to Brad so much as that and attention to detail.  Williams struggled with the details last year but, just like with Romeo this year, he missed summer league and he also missed the exhibition season.  Williams wants to be better and knows what he needs to do to become better, so he will be, and that's what the Celtics are looking for and he is cheap ($1.94M).

The caveat in all this, as always, is that a GM doesn't dangle a player Danny really wants but insists on Williams being included in the deal.


bob

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interesting spending allocation at center for Boston.  Approximately $10.1 million on 4 centers (Including Tacko Fall who has a non guaranteed contract)

Boston has stocked the center position at bargain basement prices.

I agree that the Timelord should be given his full contract to reach his potential. I also think Tacko gets 3-4 years to figure it out. Bigs (and PGs) take longer to mature than wings and things.

Once their contracts have run out, we will have full Bird Rights to consider their new contracts, or we can let them walk if they prove not up to the task.

Trades not withstanding, I believe we will be able to see both of these players grow over the next few seasons. Having another wrinkle to throw at other teams (Height!!) would be nice for a change.

gyso

I'd say consider me the newly impatient one around here. Or more exactly, it's not my impatience, but rather a direction the league's teams will take.

I think the NBA is changing. Free agency and players trying to pre-arrange their combining on team rosters is making it a state of constant upheaval. Rebuild? Maybe not an overhaul, but bigger roster tweaks seem to be standard operating procedure.

I believe the time needed to get a roster, or a prospect, up and running is shortening. Results need to come faster to be competitive, keep the arena full, and sponsors happy.

If a roster extremely thin on quality bigs (for example) like Boston, can't see enough progress from a prospect over two seasons to get him some consistent and growing minutes, I believe they will start to move on to the next viable prospect they can find.

To add my own thoughts, beyond what I see happening above, I think R Williams has the needed tools, and Boston an urgent enough need, that he should get more minutes this year. Given the apparent quality level of the rest of the centers (in my opinion), if he can't get behind Kanter in the rotation by late this season, something's wrong. Either with R Williams, or the coaching staff. Furthermore, I think this compounds the need for an experienced big-man coach with success on his resume.

NYCelt

We know what Kanter can do but I expect to see his offensive game expand.  If Aron Baynes can make a 3 pointer I think Kanter can as well.

For Williams I think it is all about repetition.  No player can really improve unless they get a chance to play consistently.  

In the case of VP, he just needs to get adjusted to the NBA game (speed)  He has enough experience to step on the court and contribute right away.

Boston will use all of its' center depth this year.

dboss wrote:NYCelt

We know what Kanter can do but I expect to see his offensive game expand.  If Aron Baynes can make a 3 pointer I think Kanter can as well.

For Williams I think it is all about repetition.  No player can really improve unless they get a chance to play consistently.  

In the case of VP, he just needs to get adjusted to the NBA game (speed)  He has enough experience to step on the court and contribute right away.

Boston will use all of its' center depth this year.

Agreed.

They're going to need to.

I think being from an overseas league, VP's ability to adjust is a complete unknown at this time, but hopefully all can contribute.

NYCelt wrote:

dboss wrote:NYCelt

We know what Kanter can do but I expect to see his offensive game expand.  If Aron Baynes can make a 3 pointer I think Kanter can as well.

For Williams I think it is all about repetition.  No player can really improve unless they get a chance to play consistently.  

In the case of VP, he just needs to get adjusted to the NBA game (speed)  He has enough experience to step on the court and contribute right away.

Boston will use all of its' center depth this year.

Agreed.

They're going to need to.

I think being from an overseas league, VP's ability to adjust is a complete unknown at this time, but hopefully all can contribute.

The Celtics will be fine at center.  How many years has it been now with me bitching and complaining about the need for a dominant rebounding center?

Last year AH averaged a career low in rebounding at 6.7  His rebounding numbers have been trending down for a while now and at 33 the trend will continue.  Kanter at 27 is 6 years younger than AH.  RW has all the physical ability to be a very good rebounder, now he needs to become more of a technician.  VP is a legit 7 foot center that is also a physical post player and can rebound.

Check rebounding off of the Things We Need List.

I've been right there bitching and moaning along with you.

Last center we had that I though did a fair part of the job was Perkins. And he wasn't king of the boards.

I think you have to go back to some guys named either Parish or Cowens to find centers who could defend and maybe go grab a board.

That's a long time. People can argue the center role has changed all they want, but those guys still need to be able to defend, board, and score inside.

I think Kanter will be an improvement. We'll see what he can do when he gets starter minutes for a prolonged period. I believe Williams is the guy, if they'll just play him and deal with the bumps in his overall learning process. I'll believe VP when I see him do it. I have a long standing lack of faith in players coming in from overseas being able to adapt. Some have been spectacular, but it seems the majority aren't up to the task.

I hope that Poirier can make a contribution, but the last guy the Cs had from France was a first round draft pick and he amounted to very little in a Cs uniform and has now been waived (or whatever) and is no longer on the roster.

Poirier was never drafted, has played in two summer league seasons and has never been signed to an NBA contract. There has to be a reason why, at age 26, that he has never been even remotely close to playing for someone in the NBA.

With that thought in mind, I think that Fall will be more likely to make a limited contribution in Boston before Poirier will.

wideclyde wrote:I hope that Poirier can make a contribution, but the last guy the Cs had from France was a first round draft pick and he amounted to very little in a Cs uniform and has now been waived (or whatever) and is no longer on the roster.

Poirier was never drafted, has played in two summer league seasons and has never been signed to an NBA contract.  There has to be a reason why, at age 26, that he has never been even remotely close to playing for someone in the NBA.

With that thought in mind, I think that Fall will be more likely to make a limited contribution in Boston before Poirier will.

Clyde

We have only seen a few highlights on him along with articles about what he can do.  He turns 26 in October.  He will be an older rookie like Theis and Wanamaker.

The Celtics lost two centers and they have added two centers (not counting Fall)

I am in a wait and see mode.  He will get a chance to play and we will figure out PDQ if he can help our team.

He deserves an opportunity just like everyone else.  Tacko Fall is an anomaly and well worth an investment.

After years of underwhelming post play, I'm eager to see the Time Lord get some significant minutes. He's young and will make some mistakes but he needs actual game minutes in order to grow.


KJ

I'd be happy to see Kanter continue to put up outstanding numbers in rebounding and efg - to the point where Brad plays him 30 plus minutes per game like the cream of the centers listed below - therefore lessening the need of the backups to provide key minutes.

  http://bkref.com/tiny/ZUmY7

 swish

 Kanters last 2 years

   Enes Kanter: Per Game (2017-18 to 2018-19)
From To      G   GS   MP   FG  FGA  FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% eFG%FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF  PTS
2018 2019 138 102 25.1 5.8 10.1 .571 0.1 0.3 .278 5.7 9.9 .579 .574  2.3 2.8 .816  3.8  6.6  10.4 1.6  0.5  0.5  1.7  2.6 13.9

 swish

Another long-suffering-from-center-drought fan here. IMO, the more RW plays, the better he, and the team, will be in April. I hope Theis sees duty more often at the 4, allowing Kanter, Williams, Poirier and Fall to divvy up the minutes at 5. Hawk

Anyone who shoots fritos at a clip over .800% can learn to extend his range. Look for Enes to shoot 3's under Brad.

Also, Theis is solid at 6'8" and 253 pounds and a damn good defender. He may very well become an upgrade at PF over Morris Sr.

worcester wrote:Anyone who shoots fritos at a clip over .800% can learn to extend his range. Look for Enes to shoot 3's under Brad.

Also, Theis is solid at 6'8" and 253 pounds and a damn good defender. He may very well become an upgrade at PF over Morris Sr.

Worcester,

If that's true then why can't a respectable career 36.4% 3 pt fg% shooter make over 80% from the line?  Jaylen is only a 65.8% frito shooter.


bob


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He hasn't learned Rick Barry's method yet.