| No Paul? It's Not The End Of The World Authored by Brian Reynolds - February 9, 2009 - 5:42 pm
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Can we put that to rest?
Williams, who left the University of North Carolina after his freshman season, has quietly turned into one of the league's more productive forwards. On the year, he is averaging 14.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg. But it's his recent play that has grabbed the attention of his coach.
"Marvin's been great ever since he took that spill and had that concussion,"said Mike Woodson before Saturday's contest against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Since that injury Williams suffered in Golden State on January 16th, he has scored at least 16 points in seven of nine games, including a 29 point effort in Charlotte where the Hawks needed every point they could get. Marvin only shot 5-15 from the field that night, but connected at the line 18 times in 20 attempts. The fact that Marvin is getting to the line so often shows that he is being aggressive and taking the ball consistently to the hoop.
Listed at 6 feet 9 inches tall, Marvin entered the NBA as a 19-year old kid with plenty of upside. He came off the bench for Roy Williams and contributed valuable minutes for the NCAA Champion Tar Heels earning ACC Freshman of the Year Honors. But with the early success of Chris Paul and even Deron Williams, the Hawks have been ridiculed for their selection.
At first, it is easy to see why. At the time, Atlanta desperately needed a point guard. They had Tony Delk and Tyronn Lue running the show so all signs pointed to a floor general that could help rebuild the team. It was an easy choice. You couldn't go wrong with either Paul or [Deron] Williams. But GM Billy Knight went with Marvin instead, stirring a lot of criticism in Hotlanta.
While Paul averaged 16.1 ppg and 7.8 apg in his rookie season, Marvin contributed 8.5 ppg and .8 apg. While Deron hit 42 percent from the three-point line in his rookie campaign, Marvin shot 25 percent. What was Atlanta thinking?
Well, it looks like we are starting to see what Billy Knight envisioned when he made the selection. The Hawks have since traded for one of the best point guards in the game in Mike Bibby and now compile a formidable line-up that would scare any team come playoff time.
Currently, Atlanta holds a 29-21 record and the fourth spot in the East. Their focus right now, however, is to get healthy. Joe Johnson saw his first action in almost a week while recovering from the flu. Al Horford is still trying to find his way after missing 12 games with a bone bruise. And now Bibby has gone down with a sprained left foot and there is no telling when he will return. So, All-Star weekend will be a nice break for one of the NBA's nicest surprises.
The bottom line is that Atlanta is good. And with key players missing games, Marvin Williams has been a big reason why they have been able to hold their ground.
So let's stop beating ourselves over the head with thoughts of, "What if Atlanta had Paul dishing to Josh Smith?" There wasn't a widespread expectation that Paul would become the NBA's premier point guard and I would easily take Williams over Andrew Bogut who was picked first that year by Milwaukee.
Let's also try keep in mind that the dude is only 22 years old.
- Brian Reynolds is a contributing writer from Emory University and can be reached at Brian.matthew.reynolds@gmail.com |
