| D-Will Is For Real Authored by Derek Flack - March 18, 2008 - 9:23 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | The First Three Weeks of 2008-09 Now that we’ve had a little time to watch free agency unfold, along with the usual accompaniment of trades, let’s look at some of the key moves and how they impact the teams involved.
Grading The Deal: W's Sign Maggette And TuriafThe Boom Dizzle era is over, and the Warriors quickly recovered by signing two nice pieces to complement their young core.
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Having freed himself from the opponent, he is now faced with two decisions, shoot a wide open 17 foot jump shot at the top of the key or drive the open lane to the basket for either a lay-up or an assist to an open shooter on the perimeter or a big man near the basket.
This is the play that Deron Williams has quietly mastered over the first two and a half seasons of his career.
Williams may not be as flashy of a dribbling machine as Allen Iverson, but his crossover has become the most efficient since the cross-up step-back-three days of Tim Hardaway.
Williams’ ability to break down the defense in a quick and effective manner is one reason why the Utah Jazz have won 19 straight home games, tying the franchise record put up by the John Stockton/Karl Malone team from 1996.
The Jazz are 8-2 so far in March as they head into Thursday’s TNT game against the Los Angeles Lakers looking to set a new franchise record for consecutive home wins with 20.
Through the first 10 games this month Williams is averaging 20 points and 13.2 assists per game while shooting 49 % from the field, a bit better than the 19.3 and 10.2 average that he has carried through out the season.
In a loaded Western Conference the Jazz are setting within arms reach of homecourt advantage but are also only a slight misstep away from falling out of the playoffs. The Jazz have 7 of their next 8 and 9 of the final 13 games at home in the Energy Solutions Arena; with the way they have played at home so far this year, 29 wins and only 3 losses, the Jazz could very easily fight their way into home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
Whether or not the Jazz earn home court advantage all falls on Williams’ shoulders; when Deron plays well the Jazz usually play well, when he struggles his teammates often struggle with him. He is the engine that makes the Jazz run, the leader that veteran teammates like Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko look to when the game is on the line. Every player on the team trusts Williams to get the ball to the right people at the right time.
That trust in Williams is why the Jazz were able to go into the Boston Garden and become the only Western Conference team to leave with a victory over the mighty green Celtics. In Boston Williams took over the game with 32 points on 17-18 from the free throw line and 8 assists as he single handedly put the game out of reach in the final 5 minutes of the Jazz’s 18 point win.
Williams’ teammates trust him, but more importantly, he trusts his teammates. Deron is never afraid to pass to a teammate to shoot a clutch shot at the end of the game, even though he is capable of creating his own shot any time he wants to. When the game is on the line he regularly sets up Mehmet Okur for open game winning threes. He can also get the ball to Carlos Boozer for open 15 footers off of perfectly executed pick & rolls that start at the top of the key. Even with the off-season turmoil between himself and Kirilenko, Williams still gets the ball to AK around the basket and on the perimeter for open shots at the end of games. He has set up Harpring for mid-range baseline jumpers in the closing minutes, as will as drove and kicked out to Kyle Korver for threes in crunch time. Williams trusts his teammates so much that he even set up straight out of High School (then 20 years old) CJ Miles for a potential game winning three against the Celtics at home in late December with the final second of the game ticking off the clock and the Jazz trailing by two. Miles missed the shot with the ball going halfway down the basket before sliding off of the rim, but Williams knew that it was a better shot than he could have got off.
Williams can also step up and take over when the game is on the line, as he in the playoffs last season against the Warriors and like he did last week in Boston. He has hit numerous late game shots and game winners and is quickly becoming one of the best all around point guards in the NBA. |
