Robert Williams is making critical strides this offseason

There is no projected playoff team in either conference that has more question marks in its frontcourt than the Boston Celtics. The revamped (mostly) inexperienced group will be led by Enes Kanter, who should have the inside track on the starting spot given his pedigree and decision to sign in Boston for a discount price. Behind him, a pair of international big men loom in Daniel Theis and Vincent Poirier. Theis can help spread the floor when he's at his best, but both guys serve as forceful rim runners that will be in the hunt for minutes off the bench.

The biggest wildcard out of the group heading into camp may very well be second-year center Robert Williams however. The athletic big man has come a long way in just one NBA season, shedding any reputation issues that came with him out of Texas A&M after he missed his first summer league practice and conference call as a rookie with a hard-working rookie campaign according to team sources.

Now, after an encouraging performance during Celtics summer league, Williams is sticking out from the pack in the eyes of Brad Stevens.

"I think Rob Williams has put in as good of a summer as anybody," Stevens said Tuesday night at an ABCD Hoop Dreams event at the Auerbach Center. "Just seeing him up close has been fun. He's been here a lot and really has worked hard."

So what kind of changes has Stevens seen in Williams when it comes to year two? The coach told BostonSportsJournal.com that his comfort level is in a far different place now than last summer, which is notable on both ends of the floor.

"Robert can pass," Stevens told BSJ. "He's getting more used to what we are trying to do. You can tell he's a lot more comfortable, which is good. He feels great. His knees are great. He's doing great."

Stevens also spoke about his improved command on the defensive end on Tuesday night.

"His presence," Stevens explained. "(Celtics assistant coach) Kara Lawson said something to me in Vegas that really stuck with me. She said, 'I wish everybody communicated like Rob does.' Last year this time, you wouldn’t have said that. Last year in the middle of the year, you wouldn’t have said that. “That may be the great leadership back to (Aron) Baynes and Al (Horford), being passed down to a young player playing the same position.”

Williams played just 32 games last season while soaking up some tutelage from both of those departed Celtics. Now, the door will be open for him to stand out from a pack of bigs that will be playing a different kind of role for these C's.

"Our fives have to play differently," Stevens acknowledged. "There's no doubt about that. We're not going to ask any of our fives to be Al Horford. There's not a volume 3-point shooter in that group. We have a lot of rollers and rim threats, guys who can do different things in different ways. We just have to play to their strengths. It will be more burden on some of our guards and wings to score, but that's okay. We've got a lot of guys that can do that."

There have been some success stories at the makeshift center spots other places around the league. Doc Rivers rode a combination of Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell to a playoff spot with the Clippers last year. Other late first-rounders (Clint Capela, Jarrett Allen) have emerged as starting centers with similar skillsets to Williams after a couple of NBA seasons. Whether or not Williams can emerge from a crowded field to take claim to a bigger role remains to be seen but the chance will be there for a guy who had one of the highest block rates per 36 minutes in the NBA last season.

"There are going to be a lot of minutes in every game for someone to take," Stevens said of the center spot. "It could be rotating them, it could be somebody wins it. We'll see how it all works out. They are all good guys and they've had good summers."

Williams may have the longest odds out of the bunch to establish a major role right away out of camp, but his cheap rookie contract and age make him the best-case scenario for Boston to succeed at that position over the long haul. Will an offseason of hard work and growth be a step in the right direction for him on that front? We will find out in October.