Robert Williams III’s grade: C+
Robert Williams has played 61 games through his first two seasons as a Celtic, but the potential is still there for the athletic big man. The Boston Celtics had high hopes for Williams III last season, but early in the year, he had a major hip injury.
He only ended up playing 29 games, most of which came on minute restrictions, recovering from the injury. Then as soon as Boston fans thought they were going to see a healthy Williams, the pandemic happened, and it would be months before we could see him on the court again.
When he did play, it was clear that defense was his strength (other than strength itself). He has the body and the speed to be one of the best shot blockers in basketball, but he does have to work on his patience; he gets easily baited by shooters, but that is something he can fix.
On offense, his passing and playmaking are much more developed than many would have thought. He also will likely become a terrifying offensive rebounder in the NBA. And although like Grant, there is a small sample size, he was the most efficient scorer in the NBA playoffs. He likely will not become a dominant shooter, but he makes his shots. This season, on incredible efficiency, he scored 5.2 points per game in 13.4 minutes, while in the playoffs, those numbers dropped to 3.7 and 11.5, respectively.
The Celtics and Ainge still have high hopes about Timelord, and with the same questions as last year about the center position, Williams may have an explosive season if he stays healthy.