Is Marvin Going To Break Out?

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:16 am

Atlanta Hawks

Everyone I've spoken with that has anything to do with the Atlanta Hawks seems to think this is the year Marvin Williams is going to blow up. He's put on a bunch of muscle and has been working on the 3-point shot. I am still concerned about what happens to him if the Hawks ever stumble into a true center, but so far, that hasn't been a concern. Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Solo Jones…

On a side note, I've heard some pretty good things about free-agent signees Othello Hunter (PF) and Thomas Gardner (SG). So if you're in a super-deep fantasy league and are looking for an edge, sources tell me both guys are legit. But back to Marvin for a second. If they were to actually start a real center, Al Horford would move to PF, Josh Smith would move to SF (his ego would not handle a role off the bench with any hint of class) which would leave Marvin coming off the bench. But I'm going to go with the idea that Josh Smith is right, Marvin is set to bust out this year and Horford will start at center on most nights. And since the Hawks have no real threats at center, Marvin's job is safe. Just keep in mind that Marvin will miss the first game of the season due to a suspension.

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old rem · Post #2 » by **old rem** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:50 pm

Marvin has had the muscle,needed to want to use it. His limit has been that he has the PF body but a SG mindset. Experiance has gradually improved his D,but more is needed.

lunarblues · Post #3 » by **lunarblues** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:42 pm

he has to become a more assertive person offensively. every now and then i want to see him take it to the defense. he did that maybe once a game last year. i want to see him do it maybe 3 times. make them have to put a body on you. also, he didn't move off the ball at all. with childress gone i'd like to see him step into that role.

Post #4 » by **tsherkin** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 4:04 pm

Set to break out? I don't think so. In order to do that, he'd have to go and establish himself as a really explosive scoring weapon.

Set to look really good and continue to build on what he achieved last season? Absolutely.

Between JJ and Josh, I don't think there's a lot of room for Marvin to really establish himself as a volume scorer but he showed us 15 ppg on above-average efficiency (a TS% around 54 last year), so he'll probably bump that up a little with consideration for what he can do. The lack of turnovers is nice, too; I'm impressed with Marvin dropping his TOV% every year, even as his USG% climbs. And it's still hard to believe that he's only 22.

For Marvin to really break out, I think he needs to work on his range a bit because the Hawks offense doesn't really look like it's going to afford him the interior touches he wants in order to score more, so if he can add 2-4 extra shots a game by getting some corner and straightaway threes that he hits at 35%+, then he can start making serious forward progress. Meantime, his interior game and his ability to draw fouls are both very encouraging.

JoshB914 · Post #5 » by **JoshB914** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:19 am

Another stupid comment about Josh Smith's ego.

Gardner or Hunter in a fantasy league? Is he serious?

will · Post #6 » by **will** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:25 pm

Nope.

Just revisit the old Chris Paul debates from yesteryear.

LL Cool Scott · Post #7 » by **LL Cool Scott** » Wed Oct 1, 2008 2:46 pm

Marvin needs to channel is inner Robert Horry (the young Horry, who did nothing but shoot threes and drive HARD to the hole). That's the only way he's going to improve his scoring average this year. With a healthy Bibby, Joe entering his prime, an expanded role for Horford, and Josh Smith's continued improvement, I could actually see Marvin's production decline slightly this year. Not enough touches to go around in this offense (which is a WONDERFUL problem to have).

jagstang76 · Post #8 » by **jagstang76** » Wed Oct 1, 2008 4:35 pm

I don't understand how people don't see the progress and potential this kid has. Yes, he's added weight and worked on his 3pt shot. But what many don't see is he's already a go-to shooter on this team. How many games have we seen him get the first shot? We run so many plays where he is the one left alone on the perimeter for him to get that shot going. The reason is when he gets hot from out there, we get easy points and it opens up more opportunities as the defense tries to adjust. So, I honestly think he's probably option #2 right now even though Smoove is further along than Marvin.

The 3pt shot is really going to make Marvin a dangerous scorer. Yes, he does need to be aggressive and take it to the rim, but his game will be so strong when he gets it going from down town. All those easy jumpers he's been getting will turn into 3s, which will put us up faster and make the defense spread out more. It can only be good.

Post #9 » by **tsherkin** » Fri Oct 3, 2008 1:46 am

jag, I think the point isn't that he doesn't have potential, it's that the situation isn't ideal for him to really bust out with a higher volume of touches. He's not a point forward, he's not a big-time rebounder, he's not a lockdown defender (not that he's bad, he's just not All-Defensive), so scoring is the key skill he brings... but there just aren't sufficient touches for him to really boost his game unless we see a huge increase in offensive efficiency.

Of course, if the Hawks' game plan changes in order to feature Marvin a little more, all that gets tossed out the window, the deal is, why would they do that when they have JJ, Bibby (who's an established scoring weapon, last season aside) and so much invested in the development of Josh Smith and Al Horford?

Marvin's got 20 ppg in him, he'll probably do it at least once in his career, but this doesn't feel like that year.