Bulls Rookie Patrick Williams Facing Aggressive Challenge From Team

Chicago Bulls rookie Patrick is as mild-mannered as they come with a cerebral attentiveness to the game. Lebron James was impressed by his focus while lined up against him.

He’s laser-sharp on trying to get better and better, James said after their Jan. 8 matchup. “Didn’t say much at all… He stays sharp on the game plan and I think he’s going to keep getting better and better… Chicago has a good one.”

Williams has played well early in his rookie season considering there was barely an offseason to develop, however, it seems he’s reached the first hurdle of his young career: becoming more aggressive as a shooter.

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Billy Donovan: ‘There’s No Question… He’s Got to be Aggressive’

Williams, 19, is still in the infancy of his professional basketball career after playing just one season of college basketball. As the ACC Sixth-Man of the Year last season for Florida State, Williams has yet to own the role as a true scoring threat for a team after going through a growth spurt in high school.

Becoming a scoring threat starts with shooting — something coach Billy Donovan has taken the responsibility of encouraging and scheming the ball more to Williams.

“I thought he had a lot of shots and opportunities to shoot the ball and I thought he bypassed them,” Donovan said after the Bulls’ win over the Charlotte Hornets, where Williams shot just 2 for 7 from the field. “I think from myself and the rest of the team, we’re encouraging him to (shoot more). Certainly from talking to him after the game and playing against Charlotte with the zone and the way they were rotating and the reads that were there, I think it made him a little bit indecisive. But there’s no question that he’s got to be aggressive.”

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Zach LaVine Confident in Williams

Bulls star Zach LaVine is enjoying the success of a more-rounded offense this season as Chicago is 7-9 through 15 games.

Williams has helped in the effort in a secondary scoring role, averaging 9.9 points per game and has proven when confident he can shoot the lights out, converting for 46.7% from three-point range this season.

“Zach said he believes in me more than I believe in myself, which is at times true,” Williams said. “He just told me just to keep shooting the ball, to stay confident offensively and defensively, to make plays that the team knows that I can make. Like I said, as a player you always want to be able to correct yourself. But it’s always good and it’s always needed to have guys in the locker room that can correct you when you need to be corrected as well.”

Williams continues to garner the confidence of his teammates as he adjusts to his new home in the NBA.

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