Eric Williams

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Anyone else concerned by Obie's hints about more playing time for Eric
Williams? One of the great upshots of the draft, I thought, was that we'd
see less and less of Williams. I'm no fan of his at all. He no longer has
the ability to score, he can't shoot from the outside, he's an atrocious
ball-handler and passer and an abysmal rebounder. Other than that, he's
great... :-)

He allegedly plays good defense, but I've never noticed him shutting anyone
down exactly. He probably plays better defense than any of the rookies, but
does that justify increased playing time when weighed against his other
shortcomings? I'd rather see McCarty on the floor than Williams.

Before his injury, I thought Williams was going to evolve into a nice bench
player somewhere-operating as a designated slasher/scorer in short stretches
against favorable matchups (slower defenders). But since the injury, he has
shown me absolutely nothing. Nada. He's one of those frustrating
ball-stoppers. When the ball gets to him, it usually means it's going up or
he's going to waste several seconds jab-stepping and faking while the
offense grinds to a halt. A lot of Celts are guilty of this, but Williams is
a prime offender.

Anyway, I'm glad the Celts are back, and can't wait to see some games. Seems
to me preseason games were not included in the NBA League Pass. Is that
right? I guess I'll have to wait until opening night.

Mark