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New York Knicks: Derrick Williams Made An Opening Night Statement

By Nathan Grubel

Oct 28, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New York Knicks forward Derrick Williams (23) drives for the basket as Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams (5) defends during the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New York Knicks forward Derrick Williams (23) drives for the basket as Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams (5) defends during the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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For all of the fans and analysts out there that didn’t think the New York Knicks had a chance to make the playoffs this season, I invite them to take a look at the result of their opener Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Knicks torched the Bucks 122-97 and kept the offense coming all night long. Despite Carmelo Anthony only shooting 4-of-16 from the field, the team still got positive contributions from the rest of the team, including rookies Kristaps Porzingis (16 points) and Jerian Grant (10 points).

Arguably the most surprising performance of the night came from forward Derrick Williams, who had a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds.

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What Williams has always brought to the table is lots of energy and passion. In New York, however, that hustle and willingness to do the “dirty work” has doubled, as he is always in the hunt for put backs and transition buckets, much of which we saw against the Bucks.

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He’s always been an incredible athlete, but now that he’s had time to become more familiar with the NBA game and it’s latest “pacing and spacing” outburst, Williams is learning to take advantage of chances to get easy points versus working the hard way for every single score.

What’s impressed me the most is his ability to score off of pull-up jump shots in the lane. There have been times during the preseason and even last night where he looked so comfortable going up for mid-range shots that he didn’t take a lot of before in that they were timed and open.

Williams used to take more contested shots than he does nowadays, which was fine in high school and college because his strength and athleticism could carry him there. It’s a little different in the professional league where everyone is just as talented as you are, meaning you need to be smarter about your shot selection on a nightly basis.

It was never a question of if Williams had the capability to connect on jump shots. Coming out of college he was viewed as a potential stretch-4 who could spread the floor and create looks on offense. He still has those tools, but now he’s beginning to put them to better use.

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Williams hit on 7-of-14 two-point attempts overall against Milwaukee, showing that he is going to be most effective as a scorer inside the arc. He did make a three-point attempt though, so you can’t count him out of the game in terms of spacing the floor in transition or sneaking away from the defense for an open look.

One last area in which he’s shown improvement in and should continue to perfect is his free-throw game.

Being that he likes to attack the rim and score points that way, he should also look to create more contact on the offensive end in general to get himself to the line. Williams shot 7-of-9 from the free-throw line versus the Bucks, something that balanced his scoring and helped him appear to be more versatile than a spot-up forward who can run the court.

If Williams continues to build upon his shot selection and draws more fouls in halfcourt situations, there’s no telling what kind of scoring machine he could become. This is the vision that many scouts had before he came into the league. At 6-foot-8 with his size and mobility he’s going to give teams problems provided he can remain efficient.

Williams came out and made a statement on opening night that he’s no longer the same scrub that was picked second overall. He went back and fixed a lot of the holes in his game and just became a wiser player in general. I will admit I’m a huge Porzingis fan, but Williams has continued to make his case that he belongs in the starting lineup.

Next: What Carmelo Anthony Can Teach Kristaps Porzingis

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