Justin Williams

Why doesn't this kid play more? 12 boards in 22ish minutes? Damn shop artest and bibby so the kids get more time

Contrary to last nights defensive performance JW has the knock that he's not a very good defender. Pretty much the scouting report on JW is as follows;

rebounder

That is all.

But he has shown that he can rebound the ball pretty damn well. JWs problem is that he is lost on defense. He loses his man all the time which leads to easy layups. He also is a horrible scorer only racking up points on put backs, and inside garbage.

I hope that the coaching staff is working with JW, because if he can get better defensively I don't see why he couldn't become a defensive specialist. Even a starter on a team with enough offense in the starting lineup if he were to improve his overall defense, and man on man coverage. (I.E. Ben Wallace type player where his defense outweights his offense, or Rodman) He also needs to work on the free throws but we all know that ;)

As for shipping Bibby i would hold off on that. We have improved so much turnover wise, and assist wise since he has come back. Not 100% sure of it's just because we have a pure PG playing the entire game or if it's because Bibby offers a lot of experience. I say Wait on Bibby, and shop Artest.
 
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.JWs problem is that he is lost on defense.

And offense. Don't forget offense.

It's a shame that he can't grow into his role much sooner. More PT would be great for development, but not-so-much for the team as a whole. Perhaps he pans out, or perhaps he'll always be one of those one-dimensional (literally) players. We should use some of this season to at least find out definitively one way or another.
 
On the eve of the 2006 NBA Draft this (link) was the scouting report on Justin Williams. He was viewed as a project then and nothing much as changed since. Note: "One Star" Fringe NBA player/12th Man

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/Draft/2006/justinwilliams.htm

NBA Draft: Justin Williams
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College: Wyoming
Class: Senior
Position: C
Height: 6’10”
Weight: 225lbs
 
he would be perfect for the dleague right now.

get the kid some playing time in real games and see how he develops. i don't understand why we never utilize the D-league
 
He WAS in the D-league prior to being with the Kings. He was the leading rebounder in the D-league and that was when we signed him. No need to move him back down. He just needs more playing time
 
Contrary to last nights defensive performance JW has the knock that he's not a very good defender. Pretty much the scouting report on JW is as follows;

rebounder

That is all.

Umm, you forgot the part about defense. He was the #11 shotblocker in the NCAA his sophomore year, and #2 his junior year.
Williams’ biggest asset as far as the NBA is concerned lies in his game-changing shot-blocking ability. He averaged an astounding 5.4 blocks per game as a college senior, good for 2nd best in the country, and a full 1.5 more blocks per game than the third best shot-blocker in the nation. Beyond his physical gifts, Williams is blessed with amazing timing and instincts in regards to challenging and intimidating around the rim. He often doesn’t even need to jump to block a shot, just positioning himself perfectly with his arms high in the air and pinning the ball to the glass in one quick, fluid motion. His massive hands help him out a great deal in this regard. Williams gets his fair share of blocks on the ball while guarding his man, but makes most of his living on the weak-side. He rotates in the blink of an eye, anticipates his opponent’s leap to let him get in the air before he does, and then goes straight up with no hesitation at all. Even when he doesn’t come up with a block on any given possession, his mere presence in the lane is enough to make opposing guards leery about driving into the paint.

Being more than just a shot-blocker, as a team defender Williams is quite good as well. He is a pesky, physical type, always looking to scrap, never being afraid of contact, holding his ground against stronger opponents and showing tremendous hustle on this end of the floor. His work-ethic and athleticism are on full display in the way he defends the pick and roll especially; coming out to hedge the screen, showing extremely well and then recovering in the blink of an eye right back into the post to continue to get the job done. If a teammate blows his assignment, Williams is quick enough to even step out on the perimeter and contest jump-shots from opposing guards as well.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Justin-Williams-346/
 
Umm, you forgot the part about defense. He was the #11 shotblocker in the NCAA his sophomore year, and #2 his junior year.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Justin-Williams-346/

No I didn't

gary said:
Contrary to last nights defensive performance JW has the knock that he's not a very good defender. Pretty much the scouting report on JW is as follows;

Just because he blocks shots doesn't mean his defense is any good. He is constantly lost out there (w/ the exception of last night) and loses the man he's defending. He is horrible at man to man D. Or at least he was. Not sure how much work he has in this year because he hasn't had much PT.

I like the guy, but he still needs to be less one dimensional if he is to get PT over guys like Moore, and Hawes.

BTW that draft express was a writeup how he did in the Mountain West conf. It didn't translate into the NBA game which moves much faster pace, and he was constantly losing his man on the defensive end last year when given time.
 
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No I didn't



Just because he blocks shots doesn't mean his defense is any good. He is constantly lost out there (w/ the exception of last night) and loses the man he's defending. He is horrible at man to man D. Or at least he was. Not sure how much work he has in this year because he hasn't had much PT.

I like the guy, but he still needs to be less one dimensional if he is to get PT over guys like Moore, and Hawes.

BTW that draft express was a writeup how he did in the Mountain West conf. It didn't translate into the NBA game which moves much faster pace, and he was constantly losing his man on the defensive end last year when given time.


I agree completely. He's mostly a weak side shot blocker, meaning he leaves his man and slides over. Sometimes that can be good and sometimes very bad - especially against a good inside passing team. His defense just like his offense needs LOTS of work. Maybe Williams can get there eventually with hard work, but in the meantime as you said, he's just too one dimensional to slide up much past 11th or 12th man on this Kings roster.
 
On the eve of the 2006 NBA Draft this (link) was the scouting report on Justin Williams. He was viewed as a project then and nothing much as changed since. Note: "One Star" Fringe NBA player/12th Man

But is that site very credible? While I can't argue with anything but the grammar below...
Scouting Report: A defensive stud and shot blocking extraordinaire. His offensive game however is still very raw and unpolished.
...their appraisal of a player's overall potential leaves a lot to be desired. Let's see what they said about the #1 most productive rookie in the NBA this year, who is playing C for the All Star rookie team...

NBA Draft: Sean Williams
star.jpg
star.jpg

"...
a 'work in progress' type of draft pick..."

star.jpg
star.jpg
= Career Reserve
Their guesses about a lot of this year's rookies seem to have been off...
NBA Draft: Jeff Green - three stars
NBA Draft: Nick Young - two stars
NBA Draft: Jared Dudley - two stars
NBA Draft: Rodney Stuckey
- two stars
NBA Draft: Jason Smith - two stars
NBA Draft: Aaron Brooks - one star
That covers over a third of the top 20 most productive rookies in the NBA this year, including three of the starters for the All Star rookie team.

And then there was...
NBA Draft: Josh McRoberts - four stars!!!
Wake me up when Josh McRoberts is better than all those other guys.

Good news for us, though...
NBA Draft: Spencer Hawes - five stars!
They figured he should have been the #3 pick, right behind Oden and Durant, nobody else got more than 4.

The site is new, this was their first attempt at judging draft candidates. I'm sure they'll do better at some point, but for now, I'm not losing any sleep over their prognostications.
 
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No I didn't

Just because he blocks shots doesn't mean his defense is any good.
"Being more than just a shot-blocker, as a team defender Williams is quite good as well." -- nbadraft.net

BTW that draft express was a writeup how he did in the Mountain West conf.

He followed up by being the NBDL's leading shot blocker, at 3.08 per game, and the NBA's 6th best blocker per 48 minutes last year.

I'm fine with anyone having the personal opinion that he's not very good, I'm just taking issue with the idea that scouting reports have said the same, since that wasn't true of the reports I read. Those said that he needed to work on his upper body strength and his offensive game, but were otherwise quite positive.
 
"Being more than just a shot-blocker, as a team defender Williams is quite good as well." -- nbadraft.net



He followed up by being the NBDL's leading shot blocker, at 3.08 per game, and the NBA's 6th best blocker per 48 minutes last year.

I'm fine with anyone having the personal opinion that he's not very good, I'm just taking issue with the idea that scouting reports have said the same, since that wasn't true of the reports I read. Those said that he needed to work on his upper body strength and his offensive game, but were otherwise quite positive.

You are mistaking him getting a lot of blocks with him being a good defender. In college the game was quite a bit slower. Especially in his conference. His defensive praise he got while in college has not translated into his NBA game.

Look at Raef LaFrentz. Same situation. the guy was a tremendous weak side shot blocker. One year he was blocking more than 3 a game, but he was a HORRIBLE defender. He was touted as being a decent defender out of college as well.
 
You are mistaking him getting a lot of blocks with him being a good defender.

Naah, I'm mostly just trying to get past the idea that scouting reports said he couldn't do anything but rebound, and we seem to have moved past that now.

The thing is, he doesn't have to be GOOD. The competition is Mikki, SAR and KT. Mikki's on court/off court stat this season is a net -113 points. Justin's is +67. That's before an update for the last game, which will shift things more in Justin's favor. And that, as I see it, is about all we have to know. He doesn't need to be All Star caliber, or even at the level of a lukewarm starter. He just needs to be a net asset, something which none of our other PFs have managed lately. How he has managed to do that, despite rough edges, is something we can discuss for a long time, and probably will. But, meanwhile, +67 points sounds better to me than -113, so I'm going to go with it.
 
Nice little debate over just what Justin Williams means. One of the things I find amusing is how SOME Kings fans have been on the fanatical JW bandwagon for two years, more a reflection I think of how utterly pathetic the Kings front court is. These fans continue almost mystical worship over this NBA project who is one bad playing stretch, one bad late night out on the town (w/threesome RonRon! Douby! Whatever:eek:) from maybe looking for a 10 day contract someplace. Yes, he needs a lot more time on the court and he'll get it by earning his keep to be a part of Coach Theus' bench rotation. He needs a stronger work ethic and apparently has been staying more after practice to get with Asst. Coach Person to try to improve his game. It's all up to him to prove he can make it in the NBA - not Kings fans who can only end up disappointed in the latest Michael "the Animal" Smith type franchise savior - yes - it's that amusing at times:D
 
"Franchise savior"? That's laying it on pretty thick, don't you think, considering that I was just saying that all he has to do is be a non-liability? But I agree completely about the state of the Kings front, I was just looking up old team stats for another thread, and was staring at, 4: Webber/Clark/Wallace. Cripes! Our starting PF would have been our 4th stringer then! It's ridiculous!

And yes, I'm sure it's why anyone cares much about Justin. Desperation is a major factor.

EDIT: For those who haven't followed stats the last few seasons, it's been pretty clear that our weakness in the "big" department has been our achilles heel for 2 years. Stats by position for:
'05-'06: http://www.82games.com/0506/0506SAC5.HTM
'06-'07: http://www.82games.com/0607/0607SAC5.HTM
'07-'08: http://www.82games.com/0708/0708SAC5.HTM
 
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I love Williams.. I was onboard to draft him instead of Douby. When he went undrafted I was stoked to get him. I hope the coaches are working with him on the defensive end. We do have a great defender as a coach in Randy Brown. He was a defensive specialist. Hope he teaches Williams. On a team like ours with 4 scorers in the starting lineup I would like to try Williams out starting. With 4 others that can score the ball it probably wouldn't be a big deal putting Williams in there. He couldn't do much worse than Moore offensively.
 
I say develope him after the allstar break. We aint making the playoffs, might as well see if he can improve all the weaker aspects of his game.

I'd love to have a defensive roleplayer on the Kings again. Haven't really had one of those since good ole DC13
 
JW does rebound well. But as noted by several others previously in this thread he does look lost on defense. Blocking shots after your man has driven by where you (JW) should have been is not good ball and leads to big trouble. And his range on offense is two giant steps from the basket, as many have said, his offense is putbacks and getting to the basket in 2 steps or less.

Then there is his 28% FT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In close games he becomes BIG liability. It really seems like he does not focused when at the line. The second shot seems very different from the first one. Kinda reminds me of Chris Dudley, the Bow Legged Blazer from the 90's.

Bottom line on JW is.......... ahhh........ errr......... hmm........ a series of contradictions rolled up in a conundrum.
 
How he has managed to do that, despite rough edges, is something we can discuss for a long time, and probably will. But, meanwhile, +67 points sounds better to me than -113, so I'm going to go with it.

Yes, hopefully we shall sign him to a contract extension :D (or offer him a new one, if he is a FA this year. Not certain).
 
players don't develop w/o real game experience. the vets should have been shipped out a long time ago so we can see what we have. how can douby, garcia or any of the youngsters grow with inconsistent playing time.

look at what wallace is doing in nc with playing time.. ;)
 
You can find a player like Justin Williams as a free agent/undrafted rookie every year. Why people here think he is anything but a marginal NBA player is beyond me.

With that said....I like what he brings but he is not the "future" of this team and he can be replaced.
 
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