Marvin Williams (NBA)
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Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Scouting Report
Physical Tools: Williams has never lacked in this area -- he's 6-9 with good quickness and leaping ability. If anything, the knock on him has been that he lacks strength, but he's improved that in recent years, and the Hawks have also been masking this problem by having him check fewer power forwards than they did a year ago.
Offense: This is where Williams has improved markedly in 2007-08. First, the stats: (glossary)
Season Age Tm ORtg %Pos DRtg ------------------------------------------------------ 2005-06 19 ATL 108.5 16.5 111.7 2006-07 20 ATL 101.3 19.5 109.5 2007-08 21 ATL 113.1 20.4 106.0
In his rookie year, Williams was not asked to take a big role in the offense and responded with a decent level of efficiency, but when forced to make more plays in his second year, he looked pretty lost out there. This year, though, Williams has made a quantum leap, increasing his offensive role and posting a big leap in efficiency, making him one of the most improved players in the league so far this season.
How has he done it? Well, mainly he's been more assertive in going to the basket. He's settling for fewer jumpers, attacking the rim more (his dunks are up as well), and finishing much better inside. Williams' ballhandling has never been a major strength, but he's turning the ball over much less despite having the ball in his hands more frequently. He's also gotten a lot better at taking guys off the dribble, especially when going to his left. As a result, Williams has been drawing fouls at a very high rate and generally feasting at the free throw line, where he's a career 79% shooter. Any time you can attack the basket and either finish strong or draw a foul, you're going to be successful on offense, and that's exactly what Williams is doing more often this year.
Hot Zones:
Defense: Despite his length and athleticism, defense has never been a particular strength for Williams, but you can see his improvement this season when you look at the Hawks' overall defensive performance, as well as how their defense changes when he's off the floor. A few years ago, Atlanta was a laughingstock at that end, but they've quietly become one of the 10 best defenses in the league so far this year. Williams' individual improvement may not be apparent from the raw numbers -- aside from a slight increase in his steal rate, his box score defensive stats look identical to that of past seasons -- but he's making his biggest impact in ways the box score can't measure. In the past, Williams' presence on the floor made a bad defensive team even worse, but this year a decent Atlanta D has been even better with Williams in the game. Now, many of his minutes have come alongside defensive standout Josh Smith and solid rookie Al Horford, but you can't discount the effect of Williams' defensive improvement on the Hawks, either. He's tall and quick enough to guard multiple positions, and his improved understanding of team defensive concepts has really helped the Hawks become a solid defensive team. Remember, Williams would be a senior in college if he had stayed in school, so it's no surprise that he's just now coming into his own as a player, especially when it comes to the mental aspects of the game.
