Williams has summer plan
C’s big man sees plenty of room to improve
Robert Williams is heading into what will be a critical offseason in his development process as he tries to elevate from bit player to a rotational regular.
And Celtics fans will be happy to know that the 2018 first-round draft pick has judiciously narrowed his focus on what he needs to improve over the next four months.
“Everything,” Williams told the Herald.
“I have to work on everything. There’s no limit. Everything.”
And as for what he felt he did well in his rookie year thathecanpolishintoakey skill that will net him more playing time in 2019-20, he was similarly zeroed in.
“It’s everything,” the 6-10 inside force said, shaking his head and adding a quick laugh. “I need to work on everything. Simple as that. Everything.”
Williams got into just 32 games this past season, and while the Celts certainly needed rim protection and some interior offense, there were veteran bigs Al Horford and Aron Baynes in front of him. And at other times Brad Stevens went with smaller lineups to get more skill and floor spacing in the game.
But in his mere 8.8 minutes in those 32 games, Williams still managed to tie Horford for the team lead in blocked shots per game at 1.3. His 36-minute projection put him at 5.1 blocks, miles ahead of Daniel Theis in second at 1.7 (Horford was 1.6).
When given minutes, Williams often proved worthy. He played 25:30 against New Orleans in December and had seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. He was a plus-13. (Anthony Davis had 41 points that night but was a minus-18 in the Celtics’ 113-110 win.)
He felt like he could have done more.
“Yeah, I obviously felt like that, but like I said, it’s a league full of great players,” he said. “So if you want to stay in this league, you’ve got to grind.”
Williams got into just three playoff games in inconsequential situations. He dressed and didn’t play in four games and was inactive in the last two as the Celts bowedouttoMilwaukee. And he took it all in. “It’s just motivation,” he said. “You see there’s a lot of great people in the NBA, and obviously I want to stay in the NBA, so it’s all around motivation. That’s what I have to take into the summer. That and this being my first year, it just pushes me to want more. So it’s going to be an all-around grind.”
Now that the Timelord has time on his hands, he hopes to use it wisely – a hope the Celtics sincerely share. One of the first goals is to find the right basketball and conditioning trainer.
“I’m planning on being in a couple of cities working with a couple of different people until I find a person that I just connect with,” Williams said. “We’ll just see howthatgoes.”
As for this past year, he certainly found a good teacher beyond the coaching staff in Al Horford.
“I feel like Al’s obviously a great person for anyone to watch play, you know? Not just me,” Williams said. “And that’s on the court and off the court, he’s a guy you want to watch and learn from. He led by example all year, and we had conversations about certain players or something that happened in the game, things like that.”
And next season Williams hopes there will be more of his play to discuss. He believes that, assuming he remains a Celtic after what could prove to be a tumultuous summer for the roster, he’ll be ready to accept a larger role.
“Yeah,” Williams said. “That’s what this summer is for. I’m going to grind and do the work to get better so I can be more ready next year.”