The Timelord Hype Blog

Timelord Hype Blog

Photo Courtesy of Forbes

    My infatuation with Robert Williams started on draft night. I don't follow college basketball very closely, with the exception of the top few players. Going into draft night 2018 I wanted the Celtics to get one type of player, a Deandre Jordan type, one who rebounds, catches lobs, and protects the rim. Williams was exactly that and I was excited when Boston selected him.     
    My fascination grew stronger when I got to watch my first and only live game at the Garden. Al Horford sat out that game, which allowed Timelord to get some meaningful playing time. In 16 minutes he had two points, five rebounds, and five blocks. I began to follow him more closely and have been able to watch his development since then. Last season he was able to play a significant role, but his minutes were very inconsistent. Before having to sit out for a few games due to healthy and safety protocol, Williams was playing very well and getting steady run. Stevens even said that the reason for the unpopular double big lineup was so that Rob could get more minutes. I am going to break down why I think Timelord is so special and why he will be a key to unlocking the Celtics potential. 
    The Celtics are currently not a very good defensive team, they rank 20th in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing just about 111 points per 100 possessions. This is very odd for a Brad Stevens coached team, but Williams can be a big part of the solution. Rob himself currently has a defensive rating of 105.2, so just about 5 points better than what the team average is. This rating currently ranks him 4th among Celtic players, and first amongst their centers. While Williams is known for his defensive abilities and defense has been the Celtics main concern, he also provides quite a boost on the offensive side. If you had to guess who had the highest offensive rating on our team, you would probably say Tatum or Brown because of their offensive capabilities right? Well you'd be wrong because this is a Timelord hype blog so of course it would be Robert Williams. His offensive rating is 115.6, which is about 5 points per 100 possessions better than Boston's team average. That means he has Net rating 10 points higher than the team average, which also leads the team. 
    So far we have established how dominant Timelord has looked in comparison to the Celtics, but he has been outstanding by league standards as well. He is currently averaging 6.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks on 72.7 field goal percentage in 16 minutes a game. Because he is a role player, it is better to compare him by his per 36 minute numbers. There are currently three players in the NBA who have played at least 100 minutes that average 13 or more points and rebounds and three or more blocks. Those players are Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Robert Williams, in my honest opinion I think that is a pretty good group of players to be in. Out of those three Williams has the highest field goal percentage, by a margin of 12 percentage points over Gobert. 
    I intended for this blog to highlight what an outstanding player Timelord is, even in his limited role. I hope that as he matures, he continues to improve as well as take on a bigger role for the Celtics. He is a productive player already for the Celtics and he is more importantly an extremely entertaining one who I hope to be able to watch in the green and white for years to come.