NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Dallas Mavericks need Grant Williams to act as if he’s a starter. For the early stages of the season, he was with the starting unit, now he’s back to a reserve role, the same as he was while with the Boston Celtics. This move should hopefully light a fire under Williams and provide a spark for the Mavericks going forward.
Luka Doncic is a stud. He’s a player you can lean on to lead you to victory just off his play. But he can’t score 90 points alone. He needs help. Kyrie Irving is a great complement to him and with that, they are considered one of the best backcourts in the NBA. But the two alone are not enough.
Williams was brought in to provide a boost. His average of 9.1 points and just a percentage higher than what he averaged while with the Celtics last season. However, Jason Kidd needs him to be more than just that. Williams at this point and with this team should be averaging close to 15 points per game. But that’s not his only issue.
Playing at the PF spot, Williams is and has never been a rebounder. He’s averaging just 3.8 per game and throughout his career, he’s at 3.5. The Dallas Mavericks knew this coming in but that does not mean they shouldn’t want him to reach higher.
Each offseason, the Mavericks head in knowing they need post-play in terms of offense, defense, and rebounding. And each offseason, they leave having done nothing to improve in those areas.
The drafting of Dereck Lively looked good on paper and yet, he’s still not the team’s leading rebounder. That falls on the shoulders of PG Doncic. While Lively is capable with his 7.8 boards, that’s still not enough. This is where Williams has to show up.
At 6-9, he’s not big but neither is Doncic, and yet, he’s still hustling. Rebounding is an art. It’s wanting the ball more than the next player. But that’s what happens when teams reach for the stretch position instead of getting a bruiser.
Will Grant Williams Step Up For Dallas Mavericks
All Williams has to do is look no further than his former teammate, Jayson Tatum. JT plays the same way Williams does and yet, he can still snag 8-10 boards a game. Where is the hustle in Grant Williams? Kidd is from the era where bigs went down low and did the dirty work. There is no need for your backcourt to be mixing it up with the bigs when you’re there as a PF.
While the Mavericks are off to a good start, in the playoffs, things will get tight. Williams should understand this but he has had the backing of Tatum, Robert Williams, and Al Horford with him on the blocks while he’s on the floor with either the first or second unit.
Now is his time to show his teammates that he can be the player they need him to be. And hell, even if they don’t need him to be that, show them you can at least do it if called upon. To win in this league, it takes more than outside shooting. Williams must bring more to the table than scoring under 10 points and grabbing less than 4 rebounds per game for a contender and he’s a starter now. The excuses are over.
