The Marvin Williams' question
by hawksdawgs on Jan 15, 2010 12:05 PM EST
10 comments
Marvin Williams has been driving me crazy. Every summer he works on a part of his game and every year he has shown noticeable improvement in that area. So when I heard ball handling was the subject of focus I got excited. Marv had already come a long way from his lobster clawed rookie year self, and above average handles would seriously improve his game. So did we get Marvin shooting seven free throws a game? Did we see Marv leading the break? Dribbling through traffic or pump and go? No. We got the rebirth of lobster claws. I feel like I was in a relationship where I put in now work and got cheated on. I didn't deserve any better, but it still hurts. It hurts bad.
Maybe it was my moderately high expectations, but it just seems like Marvin and his mustache have underperformed. But the stats are moderately surprising. He is creeping back toward his career average field goal percentage. At a career high shooting the three ball ( which actually means his TS% and eFG% are better than his averages). And playing better defense over the last few games. Marvin has slowly figured out how to assert himself without getting more shots.
Still, Marvin's role is not completely known. In a sense, we know who Joe Johnson is. There might not be a more defined role in the league. We understand Jamal Crawford will drill half court shots for four point plays some nights and only contribute to the other team's offense others. We have seen the front court dominate, but know what the team looks like when it becomes a jump shot happy team. Basically, the Hawks have seen the highs and lows of most every major contributor. We have even begun to get a clear idea of what encourages good Josh or Al or Joe and what makes them look like lost souls wandering in a wilderness of bad basketball.
What I mean is we don't know what we will get most nights, but we know what we want. Except with Marvin. He has underperformed until recently. But I don't mean it as an expectation thing. As in we don't know how to get Marvin 18 points a game. Instead, the Hawks have yet to figure out how to get Marvin to play great defense, rebound, and get to the free throw line when the Hawks are struggling with their shot. It is more subtle than more or less shots or attitude. But every player needs motivation, needs to be encouraged and brought back, and I believe the Marvin question is the big question of the next third of the season.
If the Hawks play well, they can play with any team. Getting a few points from the wing, rebounding, and solid defense? Well, that can bring a win against any team.
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It can be frustrating, but
It’s not often that I look at Marv and can say he is HURTING the team. He gets a few rebounds here and there and can make FTs (well, ususally). Against the Wizards, we saw some great flashes of a tough kid. He plays good defense and has gotten some nice steals. He seems to be a great teammate and never really complains.
I think we just have to get used to the fact that he’s a complement, and not an alpha-dog guy. He will forever be dogged for his draft position, which is unfair to him. I think he has been coming around lately. This game against the Suns should give him a lot of opportunities. Let’s see how he handles them (pun intended).
I still wonder how this team looks...
when it goes to Teague—??—Marvin—Smoove—Horford. How will Marvin look when he’s asked to do more? He’s capable of doing a lot of things, but he’s never shown the ability to do them consistently.
by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 15, 2010 12:39 PM EST up reply actions
I glad someone finally touched on the lack of identity
Is he a situational 3-point shooter? Do we need him to drive to the basket? Marvin’s versatility is really kinda hurting him cause it doesn’t force him to commit. Imagine how many threes Smooth would have taken in his career if he even shot 30%. Josh finally realized he couldn’t shoot, so he limited his game. Marv, though, can do a bit of everything so he’s still trying to figure out what to limit.
Personality Issue
Is Marvin’s lack of aggresiveness and assertiveness hurting his game?. Looking at the team, he is least likely to call for the ball, least likely to lead the break, least likely to shoot again after missing a shot. I think he takes it on himself too hard and returns to a shell when things don’t go his way.
I think bringing him off the bench might improve his assertiveness but I wonder what that will do for his confidence level.
i have long been on the assertiveness train
but the front court does not get enough shots most nights as is.
so i have a tough time saying Marvin needs more shots too. I think in this offense Marvin can be a timely 3 ball guy, fast break finisher, great defender, rebounder, and get to the line.
i do think he needs touches as part of his role. That shots help feed energy into the other parts of his game, but i am off the bandwagon of Marv needs 12 shots a game.
I love Marvin!!
Not because he’s the next MJ, but it’s just something about him that I really like. I think he has had a harder time than the others adjusting to the addition of JC. At the beginning of the season, JC got a lot of Marvin’s minutes. As a result , he stumbled a little bit out of the gates. He could have bitched and moaned about it, but to my knowledge, he took in all in stride and saw it as an opportunity to get better and show his worth. I give Woody a lot of credit for finding a happy medium between playing Marvin and playing JC suitable minutes; whether it’s with the starting lineup or the bench lineup. Marvin has really improved over these last few games and it’s really nice to see. We’re really hard on Marvin on this blog. I don’t think anyone here dislike the guy, it’s just his draft pick has really put a black cloud over his development. I think he really tries hard. How many other players in a Hawk’s uniform cut to the basket as much as Marvin? Besides Smoove, who else can get to the free throw line…..and make his free throws consistenly (excluding the other night)? He’s an above average defender and he’s still very, very young. I see great potential with Marvin. He can improve by leaps and bounds because he has a great attitude and appears to be very hard working. He’s acknowledged his recent struggles and I truly believe he’s been making a conscience effort to rectify what’s been ailing him.
it's all about coaching
We now know what we all suspected which is that Woody doesn’t give a shit about offense and just relies on the players’ athleticism. That works great for Joe and Jamal, but Marvin just doesn’t have the personality to force his teammates to give him offensive touches. That’s why it’s crucial for the Hawks to let Woody leave when his contract expires and bring in somebody who will actually design an offense that will take advantage of currently underused players in the offense such as Horford and Marvin and cut back on the isolations and long range jump shots by Crawford and Johnson.
I really want Marvin to be my favorite player on the Hawks so I may be biased
but I think Marvin’s just now getting over that back injury that derailed his season last year. I still feel a back injury I got 4 years ago, so I don’t think it’s ridiculous to assume that Marvin had a much shorter offseason than most players so he wasn’t able to improve his game as much this summer and adequately prepare for this season.
Maybe something else was going on, but Marvin’s looking more and more like the player he was last year and 23/24 year old basketball players don’t normally regress like Marvin did at the beginning of the season.
awww marv
he is a special case mainly because you dont know what you will get from him night in night out. the one thing you do know you will get is his effort and consistency on the defensive end. alot of times it depends on who is guarding him but marv stays consistent which is a good quality. he is one of my fav players because of his effort. but i have to admit ever since the back injury, he has been in the background. but now i see the marv from a couple years ago gradualing coming on the scene. now he just needs to get confident in his shots and they will fall. because he gets open looks but dont drill them as often. More touches arent the problem, i think the problem is him having the confidence to shoot. but him driving has kept us in games countless times. he plays inside out. again a reason he is my fav players.
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