Celtics big offseason bet on Robert Williams already looks like a smart gamble

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/11/celtics-big-offseason-bet-on-robert-williams-already-looks-like-a-smart-gamble.html



Celtics big offseason bet on Robert Williams already looks like a smart gamble



Updated: Nov. 11, 2021, 12:38 a.m. | Published: Nov. 11, 2021, 12:38 a.m.


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



BOSTON — One of the biggest bets of Brad Stevens’ first offseason at the helm of the Boston Celtics was on fourth-year center Robert Williams.

The 6-foot-8 athletic big man had shown plenty of promise during his first three seasons but he played just 113 combined games in that span, thanks to a variety of serious ailments that made him far from a dependable rotation player over the long haul. That limited availability combined with his cautious minutes load (18.9 per game in 2020-21) made a $48 million investment in the 24-year-old far from a sure thing for Boston’s braintrust.


However, over the past two years, it’s harder to find a player inside the Celtics organization that the team has been more excited about than Williams from a potential standpoint. The guy has completely erased any question marks about his work ethic or reliability on the heels of missing his first practice as a member of the organization back in 2018. He puts in the work, he’s up front with the team and Stevens returned that trust by making the gamble that his superb numbers in short stints would translate as his role grows.


After Stevens was perhaps overly cautious with Williams over his first three seasons, Ime Udoka has taken the reins off the big man. Through 10 games this season, Williams has more than doubled his career minutes per game average, culminating with his best outing of the season on Wednesday night against the Raptors.

Williams set a new career-high in the first half alone with seven offensive boards, leading to 16-second chance points in the opening 24 minutes which helped Boston build a 16-point halftime lead on their way to a 104-88 win.

The domination on the glass largely came as a byproduct of the Raptors electing to start Pascal Siakam at center in a completely small-ball lineup. That led Williams to have countless size advantages in the paint thanks to the Raptors’ switching and collapsing defense, showing Williams at his best as an efficient non-shooting center.


“They were playing smaller than they had been in the past with Siakam coming back,” Udoka said. “We returned the favor somewhat to what they did to us in the first game, switching everything and causing some cross-matches there and when we had isolation or penetration to the basket. We really told our bigs to really attack the glass, make them pay. That’s the first part of keeping them out of transition: make them focus on boxing us out on the defensive glass and it can slow down our transition as well.”

Williams finished the night with season-highs almost across the board (16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 13 rebounds) while adding a pair of steals, a block and an assist over 33 minutes. He also was a team-best +19 in that stretch. A recent conversation with Udoka helped to fuel Williams into becoming a more active contributor on the offensive glass, which has coincided with the Celtics winning three of their last four games.

“With Rob, that was something I pointed out to him a few games ago,” Udoka explained. “I felt like he wasn’t going as hard as he could to the offensive glass, he was kind of just standing behind guys. Showed him some film and talked to him about the effort it takes and how he can impact the game, so he has really worked on that over the last few games.


“Obviously his athleticism and his effort there have been great but something he was just a little stagnant in the weak-side dunker early in the season, and now he is really working to make guys pay. We’ve got guys going to the basket. Most teams in the league are over helping, shifting, and he can just clean up on the weak side. So something he has taken to heart and he’s done a great job at.”

Williams is far from a finished product but his overall numbers have translated quite nicely amid the added workload. He’s leading the league by shooting 72.5 percent from the field. His fouling (1.8 per 36 minutes) is also way down from past seasons despite the added workload, which is a tribute to him playing with better awareness and control defensively.

“He’s finally stepping into his own,” Smart said. “And we’re excited for him. He’s excited to continue to progress and keep going and only help himself and better this team. So we love everything Rob’s doing. Like I said, we’re excited for him. Everything that he does for this team is much needed and we very much appreciate it.”


With Boston’s team defense rising to 10th overall after Wednesday’s win, a slow start to the year on that end of the floor has quickly turned around. The double big Williams and Al Horford front line is working (at least defensively) in the starting five and Williams is starting to answer any questions about whether he can be a reliable piece on the defensive end as he earns crunch time minutes at center more consistently. That development is quickly turning Stevens’ big bet into a potential bargain as the Celtics season starts to show promise after a nightmare start.

“I feel like we’re coming together off of the court more, bonding, actually finding out stuff about each other,” WIlliams said of the turnaround. “We’re all basketball players, we’re all hoopers, but we’ve got to build that bond, that strength of knowing I can go to war with these guys beside me, off the court too, knowing I can go to war with these guys. I feel like we’ve been stepping up on there, but we’ve got to carry it over all year.”


Bob
MY NOTE: The Big Knock on The Time Lord was his inability to spend a lot of time on the court. So far, through 11 games, he has played in 10 and is averaging 31.2mpg in those 10 games. We need to see him stay healthy over the season but, if he does, Brad pulled off a coup signing him for those $.


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