Getty A brief altercation between Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls (L) and Bobby Portis #9 of the Milwaukee Bucks (R) is broken up
He is the Chicago Bulls‘ “biggest hope”. The key to so many of the things that could take the Bulls from good to great and, quite possibly, elite. He also just turned 21 years old and had all of 88 regular-season games under his belt before notching five playoff games against the defending champs.
Of course, “he” is third-year forward Patrick Williams and a lot has already been placed on his shoulders.
But, in many ways, the Bulls’ experiment depends on him panning out.
He has flashed tremendous potential already. And with those 93 total NBA games (and a “summer from hell”) to his credit, “it’s time to walk the walk” and put it all together consistently.
Bulls Need a Breakout
Williams appeared in just 17 games last season after a wrist injury knocked him out five games in. It took him some time to get back into the swing of things. But once he did, he averaged 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks over the final six games of the regular season.
He shot 57.4% overall and 66.7% from three-point range in that span.
That included a 35-point performance in the regular season finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williams followed that with back-to-back 20-point outings in the playoffs.
“Williams has displayed plenty of moments of promise,” writes NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. “But too often, Williams still has moments where he’s barely noticeable on the court. He has talked about the need to become more aggressive offensively. In this, his third season, it’s time to walk the walk.”
Johnson notes Williams’ wrist injury cut his season short.
But he goes on to note that the forward’s high efficiency (49% FG, 41.3% 3P) suggests he should be taking more than the 7.2 shots per game that he has so far in his career going forward.
It is not as if the Bulls need Williams to become the focal point. They just re-signed Zach LaVine to a $215 million contract while DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic are both still here.
“In this age of two-way wings, his defensive ability and impact may be even more necessary,” suggests Johnson. “But Williams can’t pass up open shots. And he needs to become more decisive offensively.”
Williams Has Been Working
As Johnson referenced, Williams has said repeatedly that he knows it is on him to assert himself in games even when all of the Bulls’ top stars are healthy. On top of his portion of the summer spent with DeRozan, Williams has trained with Paul George and NBA trainer Drew Hanlen who has also trained LaVine.
Williams also joined DeRozan for a Drew League appearance and put up a double-double.
LaVine assured that Williams was in the gym working on his craft long before any of those things, save for the training in L.A. with DeRozan who called the young forward his “next victim” when the season ended.
Bulls assistant John Bryant said Williams seemed like he “belonged” when they trained together earlier in the offseason.
Training with DeRozan and others, the Bulls hope, will help unlock that next level for Williams.
But some feel the Bulls have overvalued Williams by withholding him from trades and missed the boat on players like Rudy Gobert. All that does is put even more pressure on the 21-year-old.
What is Patrick Williams?
Calls for Williams to have the ball in his hands on offense combine with those for Williams to be played as a small-ball center to give Williams the profile of someone more like Draymond Green than Kawhi Leonard, to whom he was compared.
In reality, he is a blend of both stellar players.
Green is a four-time champion and All-Star. He is also a seven-time All-Defensive selection all by being that connective player for the Golden State Warriors. But Williams’ demeanor is much more similar to Leonard’s. That figures to serve him better than Green’s temperament has in the past.
Both comparisons are unfair to the youngster. But those are the tools he has displayed.
It might not even be about aggression, which Williams has occasionally shown. His issue could be a case of finding consistency which he said was one of the biggest things he took away from his time with DeRozan this offseason.