Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
MIAMI --- Just 29 seconds into Saturday night’s gut-punch loss to the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams drew a borderline loose ball foul while knocking a missed defensive rebound out of bounds.
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By the 10 minute, 28 second mark of the first quarter, Williams had drawn his second foul, baited into an offensive push off by the savvy veteran Kyle Lowry.
Seventeen seconds later, Torrey Craig replaced Williams. Nobody would’ve been surprised if such a deflating start pushed Williams into invisible mode the rest of the night.
Instead, Williams responded with a season-high 25 points on 8-for-10 shooting. But his performance moved past made or missed shots. With seven rebounds, four assists and intentional purpose on the offensive end, Williams made his presence felt.
“We talked about making simple plays, simple reads. That made the game easier for me or whoever else was in that slot, in that corner,” Williams said. “It made the (defensive) closeouts a lot farther and the reads easier. You got more time to make a decision. And then obviously making shots helps.”
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But that’s been coach Billy Donovan’s point all along: Williams can impact games regardless of if his shot is falling or not. With his physicality, athleticism and typical taking of the top defensive assignment, Williams’ aggressiveness needs to become more consistent.
“With younger players, you don’t want to play in a wide gap where there are these drastic differences. Whether he makes shots or misses shots, it’s the aggressiveness. And he clearly on Thursday night wasn’t as aggressive as he was (Saturday). And we gotta get him to be consistent doing that,” Donovan said. “He’s gotta own that. When he does what he does (Saturday), he’s a huge boost to our team.
“But you want to stay away from those large gaps where it’s like, ‘Who are we getting night to night?’ Patrick can control that force and aggressiveness. That’s all we need consistently from him. And I think he’s capable of doing that.”
What does Williams think?
“It’s always a work in progress,” he said. “Consistency is obviously something I want to get better at.”
Williams’ third 20-point game this season matched his career-high total for one season, accomplished in 2020-21. But while he has raised his 3-point percentage to 37.5 percent after a dismal start from that range, his current averages are remarkably similar to his career averages.
Williams is averaging 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1 steal and 0.9 blocks in 26.6 minutes.
“He's obviously had some great moments. I think it all starts with the force he plays with. And there’s so much he can get into the game on a nightly basis whether he’s making or missing shots,” Donovan said. “For him, the offensive rebounding, running the floor, attacking the basket, deflections defensively, the consistency of that is what’s important. He’s capable.”