Patrick Williams is having his worst year

[sco]

What's always driven me crazy about Pat is that about every three game he actually makes a nice, proactive play on offense that demonstrates why he was drafted 4th. He's been doing this since he came in the league. And I always think to myself, "if he can just start to do that a little more often, he'll probably be alright as a player."

And I do mean "a little more often". Like once a game. If he could just figure out how to do that and remove the bonehead plays, he'd actually be a really nice player. Worthy of his contract.

But in year 5 nothing has gotten better. He still makes the occasional nice drive where he adeptly uses his body to bully his way to the rim, but it's interspersed with lackadasaical play and 3x more unforced errors.

I feel naive writing this, but I still have hope for Pat. He deserves the criticism he got this year......but he's not this bad as an NBA player. There's no reason he can't at least be the solid 3&D guy he was his first 4 years in the league. And MAYBE a little more than that, but that seems overly optimistic at this point.

I think he will be fine next year. Injuries and no summer hurt him with the foot. He is very critical of himself (interviews he has shared).

Like you said he needs to eliminate the dribbling turnovers and makes 3s. That’s it. His D always plays with his size.

I think he will get there next season. 11 4 3 player on 40% 3s would be a helpful but overpaid player. Hope he gets enough value to be traded in a salary dump.

I agree. I saw similar issues with guys like Zach coming back from injuries. It's hard to discern quality of play from guys returning to shape. I also see Pat making fewer of those cringeworthy plays that he just should not try. If he would just stop trying to dribble all the way to the rim and dunk with one hand, I know I'd feel much better. I am still begging him to spend the summer with Johnny-dribbles-a-lot. It's not just the loose handles but I think that dude gives guys a sense of what to do with shots coming out of dribbles.

[Chi town]

What's always driven me crazy about Pat is that about every three game he actually makes a nice, proactive play on offense that demonstrates why he was drafted 4th. He's been doing this since he came in the league. And I always think to myself, "if he can just start to do that a little more often, he'll probably be alright as a player."

And I do mean "a little more often". Like once a game. If he could just figure out how to do that and remove the bonehead plays, he'd actually be a really nice player. Worthy of his contract.

But in year 5 nothing has gotten better. He still makes the occasional nice drive where he adeptly uses his body to bully his way to the rim, but it's interspersed with lackadasaical play and 3x more unforced errors.

I feel naive writing this, but I still have hope for Pat. He deserves the criticism he got this year......but he's not this bad as an NBA player. There's no reason he can't at least be the solid 3&D guy he was his first 4 years in the league. And MAYBE a little more than that, but that seems overly optimistic at this point.

I think he will be fine next year. Injuries and no summer hurt him with the foot. He is very critical of himself (interviews he has shared).

Like you said he needs to eliminate the dribbling turnovers and makes 3s. That’s it. His D always plays with his size.

I think he will get there next season. 11 4 3 player on 40% 3s would be a helpful but overpaid player. Hope he gets enough value to be traded in a salary dump.

I agree. I saw similar issues with guys like Zach coming back from injuries. It's hard to discern quality of play from guys returning to shape. I also see Pat making fewer of those cringeworthy plays that he just should not try. If he would just stop trying to dribble all the way to the rim and dunk with one hand, I know I'd feel much better. I am still begging him to spend the summer with Johnny-dribbles-a-lot. It's not just the loose handles but I think that dude gives guys a sense of what to do with shots coming out of dribbles.

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

[sco]

Read on Twitter

Pat seems very normal in this video and the dude looks lean.

I’m puzzled on both accounts.

Gotta say he does look back to being in very good shape. The contrast is that he does not look quick at all on the floor. Not that he ever has, and maybe he's just playing with very low confidence and decisiveness that makes him seem slower. I noted something similar about Giddey when he first arrived, especially on the defensive end (in his case he didn't know the system). But I'm happy that at least the weight issue seems to have been solved, and kudos to Pat for that!

[dougthonus]

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

[sco]

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

Good point! And he has never shown an ability (even before this season) to do that. I feel like Billy has been pushing him to do things that have been obviously beyond his skillset, but never seemed to address his skill shortcomings.

[Dan Z]

I understand why the Bulls re-signed him, but why for 5 years?

He's shown that at best he's a 3&D kind of player. That's it. He never showed ability beyond that. Five years means you really believe in his ability to take another leap forward, but he's been in the league for 5 years. At this point he probably is who he is.

[SHO'NUFF]

If AKME can get rid of him they will. That won't be easy though. I think he needs a change of scenery anyway.

[CROBulls]

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

Good point! And he has never shown an ability (even before this season) to do that. I feel like Billy has been pushing him to do things that have been obviously beyond his skillset, but never seemed to address his skill shortcomings.

That's why players developed post game, midrange, fadeaway game. You dont need to crossover and get fast by everyone. You can use your body because you are bigger, stronger to bully and get to the rim with your back. You still need decent handle, but with his hands he should have no issue keeping ball safe with decent post back game. Issue is he doesnt use that kind of game. We had DeRozan on a team for 3 years and this guy learned absolute zero. And with DeRozan gone, this team actually beyond Vuc has no mid-range players so there should be space and void to fill up that kind of role on this team.

[dougthonus]

That's why players developed post game, midrange, fadeaway game. You dont need to crossover and get fast by everyone. You can use your body because you are bigger, stronger to bully and get to the rim with your back. You still need decent handle, but with his hands he should have no issue keeping ball safe with decent post back game. Issue is he doesnt use that kind of game. We had DeRozan on a team for 3 years and this guy learned absolute zero. And with DeRozan gone, this team actually beyond Vuc has no mid-range players so there should be space and void to fill up that kind of role on this team.

In order to bully people while going to the rim, you still need to get past them laterally to one side or the other, either as a good first step or with ball handling, you can't just bully them going straight through them without drawing offensive fouls.

Midrange and fadeaways aren't likely to yield a bunch of FTs, but to the extent they might like wit DDR, Pat is a million miles away from doing that because he doesn't have a quick release or a massive array of shot types to pressure a defender into making a high risk defensive play. He's like many orders of magnitude beneath the skill level to do that.

More generally though, the entire league has abandoned post game as a meaningful part of the offense, because overall it is terribly inefficient and leads to inefficient shots and also uses a ton of shot clock time. Most of these mid range things are options people whom are already elite at the high percentage good shots already and learn these in order to expand their game for late shot clock situations. They aren't things you should be focusing on learning as your base game.

If you can't attack the basket effectively or shoot threes effectively, there's no reason you should first try to build up inefficient mid range shots as your main offensive arsenal. Those are shots you settle for from an elite player after your offense has failed to get a better shot. Not shots you give your 4th option.

[Ice Man]

If you can't attack the basket effectively or shoot threes effectively, there's no reason you should first try to build up inefficient mid range shots as your main offensive arsenal.

Good points, Doug. To take the matter further, a player who attacks the basket effectively but who can't shoot 3s can be a good offensive player in the modern NBA (think Butler), but rarely elite. Ditto for a player who shoots 3s but isn't good at attacking the basket (think Lonzo). And a guy who does neither just isn't a good offensive player, period. He had better make his name on heart, hustle, and muscle, to quote Stacey. If he does not, he will not be long for the league.

[Chi town]

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

Giddey doesn’t have a good handle and he’s not very quick. He just knows how to use his body and draw contact.

Pat can do the same but he doesn’t.

[dougthonus]

Giddey doesn’t have a good handle and he’s not very quick. He just knows how to use his body and draw contact.

Pat can do the same but he doesn’t.

Giddey is an excellent ball handler. He handles the ball so much that you take for granted his excellence, because he's not an elite ball handler. If Pat tried to handle the ball like Giddey and attack similarly, he'd probably average 10+ TOs a game. Of course that would never happen, because no one would ever let Pat do that, because he's a terrible ball handler.

[kodo]

That's why players developed post game, midrange, fadeaway game. You dont need to crossover and get fast by everyone. You can use your body because you are bigger, stronger to bully and get to the rim with your back. You still need decent handle, but with his hands he should have no issue keeping ball safe with decent post back game. Issue is he doesnt use that kind of game. We had DeRozan on a team for 3 years and this guy learned absolute zero. And with DeRozan gone, this team actually beyond Vuc has no mid-range players so there should be space and void to fill up that kind of role on this team.

In order to bully people while going to the rim, you still need to get past them laterally to one side or the other, either as a good first step or with ball handling, you can't just bully them going straight through them without drawing offensive fouls.

Midrange and fadeaways aren't likely to yield a bunch of FTs, but to the extent they might like wit DDR, Pat is a million miles away from doing that because he doesn't have a quick release or a massive array of shot types to pressure a defender into making a high risk defensive play. He's like many orders of magnitude beneath the skill level to do that.

More generally though, the entire league has abandoned post game as a meaningful part of the offense, because overall it is terribly inefficient and leads to inefficient shots and also uses a ton of shot clock time. Most of these mid range things are options people whom are already elite at the high percentage good shots already and learn these in order to expand their game for late shot clock situations. They aren't things you should be focusing on learning as your base game.

If you can't attack the basket effectively or shoot threes effectively, there's no reason you should first try to build up inefficient mid range shots as your main offensive arsenal. Those are shots you settle for from an elite player after your offense has failed to get a better shot. Not shots you give your 4th option.

One of the reasons scoring is so high these days is because all the coaches have abandoned the mid range and focusing on high yield shots. Billy was probably the last hold out, and he converted. Anyone trying to force mid range will be fired sooner or later.



Agreed on Demar I've always said the same. He's not good because he's a mid range shooter, that's almost an oxymoron. He's good because he's a FT merchant, and drawing FTs necessitates he be closer to the basket than the 3P line. When Demar goes into his attack set he's always swinging his arms through the defender trying to catch a hand or arm on a sweep through or if he's lost his dribble it's a bunch of pump fakes. He'll have a wide open 2 pointer and he'll still fake fake fake until the defender moves because he wants FTs, not a jump shot.

[MGB8]

Oy. Another decent Pat game in a row would at least have provided some momentum. But he has another weak game, and pretty clear Phillips has moved past him at the 3/4. That contract looks like it is going to come back and bite the Bulls in the rear end.

[Indomitable]

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

Giddey doesn’t have a good handle and he’s not very quick. He just knows how to use his body and draw contact.

Pat can do the same but he doesn’t.

R u serious?

He is not on the same Planet with Giddey

[Dez]

His dribbling is atrocious. If he could learn how to use his dribble like Coby and Giddey to draw contract it could really level him up like it has them. There is no reason Pat shouldn’t be getting 4FTs per game with his body.

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

Giddey doesn’t have a good handle and he’s not very quick. He just knows how to use his body and draw contact.

Pat can do the same but he doesn’t.

What?

Giddey has an excellent handle, just because he's crossing people over Kyrie Irving style doesn't mean he's not a good ball handler.

Also Giddey is actually deceptively quick, there numbers posted the other day showing this.

I don't understand how you can think this?

[Chi town]

There is a reason, and you gave it in the first sentence. In order to get a lot of FTs you need to put a defender in a bad position. That typically is because you are really quick and you can get past them or because you're a great ball handler so can change direction quickly with the ball in your hands.

Pat's not very quick, and he's an awful ball handler, so he really has no meaningful capability to ever put his defender in a bad position.

Giddey doesn’t have a good handle and he’s not very quick. He just knows how to use his body and draw contact.

Pat can do the same but he doesn’t.

R u serious?

He is not on the same Planet with Giddey

Of course he’s not. He has no motor and has not added anything to his game since his rookie year.

He has the body to do with Giddey is doing TJ het to the hoop and draw FTs but he doesn’t have the brain or the heart.

[Indomitable]

Giddey doesn’t have a good handle and he’s not very quick. He just knows how to use his body and draw contact.

Pat can do the same but he doesn’t.

R u serious?

He is not on the same Planet with Giddey

Of course he’s not. He has no motor and has not added anything to his game since his rookie year.

He has the body to do with Giddey is doing TJ het to the hoop and draw FTs but he doesn’t have the brain or the heart.

You might as well say Pat should be Luka. Except Pat is easily the bigger and more athletic one.

[WesPeace]

Really dissapointing last 2 games again from PWill, always the same story.. when you already think he will go on some 5 games good stretch, he doesnt.. he just introverts back into passive low usage guy.

[Ice Man]

Really dissapointing last 2 games again from PWill, always the same story.. when you already think he will go on some 5 games good strech, he doesnt.. he just introverts back into passive low usage guy.

At this stage in his career, he is who he is.