Derrick Williams a very pleasant surprise

KingsMilz · Post #1 » by **KingsMilz** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 7:29 am

7-8 games into his Kings career I have been very surprised by one Derrick Williams in the short time he's been here he's been a very solid role player with the ability to change the momentum of a game with his spectacular athletic ability. All the knocks I heard about him like "can't D", "can't play SF" and "he's a black hole" to me have been nothing but false.

In the time he's been here he's been the best open floor player off the dribble and in the skies, I also think he's been our most consistently good defender as well and all his shots come within the flow of the offence and great cuts. To me he looks like a natural SF, he looks like a higher IQ/more skilled James Johnson who turned out a complete failure for us and Derrick is basically everything we wanted Johnson to be.

I really like his attitude and he plays hard, hoping we keep giving him 30+mins a game so he can keep getting better. This somewhat makes up for the Thomas Robinson pick I'd say.

Post #2 » by **KF10** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 7:39 am

Derrick Williams has been real solid for us so far. His 3PT shooting has been improving and looks good whenever he has his feet set.

I don't like how Malone benched him today in favor for JT though. The only reason I could think of is keeping some firepower on the bench i.e. DWill as a reserve. Other than that, I hope Malone changes his mind and keeps DWill in the starting lineup with Gay & Cuz. Obviously, he plays better when he is starting imo.

Only 22 years old! Damn, sky is the limit for him.

SacTownKings4Life · Post #3 » by **SacTownKings4Life** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:36 am

Actually, in light of Rudy Gay's arrival, I think it may be better that Williams comes off the bench. As it stands right now, our bench can't score and gets us buried rather quickly. Best to have at least one guy in the second unit who can actually do something.

Post #4 » by **KF10** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:50 am

SacTownKings4Life wrote:Actually, in light of Rudy Gay's arrival, I think it may be better that Williams comes off the bench. As it stands right now, our bench can't score and gets us buried rather quickly. Best to have at least one guy in the second unit who can actually do something.

I'm in the belief of putting your best 5 on the court. JT at the 4 isn't our best option imo. I believe this team is better when they have Gay/DWill/Cuz together on the floor.

As for the second unit, I hope Thornton (or McLemore if he goes back to the bench) find their shooting touch real fast. They have been missing a lot of open shots for the past several weeks.

Also, I hope Landry comes back soon. Dude is one of the best scoring options off the bench for the last several years. That alone will bolster the Kings' bench by a couple of levels.

Post #5 » by **City of Trees** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:40 am

I'm falling in love with this dude. Always gives effort and oh boy is he a highlight reel.

Silver Man · Post #6 » by **Silver Man** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 9:37 pm

Whoever gives us a better chance to land some more ping pongs balls and losses is who at this point should be starting.

urinesane · Post #7 » by **urinesane** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 8:17 pm

The biggest things I hated about him coming out of college were his defense (watch him play on defense, and you will see he looks lost a lot) and his lazyness running back on defense (especially when he misses a shot or turns it over on offense).

He hasn't fixed either of those things and it's pretty disappointing. He is very much a player that seems to motivate himself based on how he is doing in a game, if he isn't scoring or getting alley oops, he disappears completely.

You'd think with his athleticism you'd see him get more blocks or at least once in a while run someone down for a block on a fast break, but I never saw anything from him defensively in his time with MN.

He gives a great effort on offense when he is involved in the play, but otherwise he doesn't really seem to motivate himself to play defense with high energy.

Wolf_Cry · Post #8 » by **Wolf_Cry** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 4:51 am

I'm one of the few Wolves fan who liked Williams. Not surprised by his production. I always thought he was an underrated defender (not great, but very solid). And yeah, his athleticism...something this Wolves team terribly lacks, but we trade away the only guy athletic guy we have. I hope he continues to do well for you guys, and he should be starting over Thompson.

jetfuse · Post #9 » by **jetfuse** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:03 pm

Raps fan here, ive always liked Williams as a prospect so its nice to see him playing like he is now on the kings. With Rudy now in the starting lineup, off the bench he should be able to provide a good spark for you guys.