Terrence Williams... PLAY the MAN!

He'd be in JVG's doghouse too but he wouldn't be in Phil Jackson's. Phil Jackson coached Dennis Rodman and he understood that not every player should have the same attitude. Not every player plays best that way.

 

To me it's a matter of not putting a player above a team. What kind of message does McHale send to the team if he plays TWill for the sake of playing him? That someone who gets traded for a 1st round pick gets priority? That the guy who does badly in practice still gets to play because, as you put it, "why not try him?" Who's going to play hard for a coach that sets his rotation based on important the guy is as an asset or whatever like the ways fans treat players.

I like the way McHale do things. I like that he stuck with last year's carryover guys to start the season, then changed his lineup based on play. I like that he's willing to start Parsons when Parsons did extremely well in practice. As a result McHale was rewarded with solid in-game play.

IMO, I'd rather see TWill play on the court based on merit or not play at all. I know he was traded for a 1st. But sunk cost is sunk cost. Can't cry over spilled milk. If TWill sees playing time, he really need to deserve it.

 

Drexler said this exact thing last season while discussing Williams: young players need consistent, predictable playing time to get their confidence and establish their groove. He said it undermines a player when a mistake can send them to the bench with no idea when the next opportunity to play will come.

Drexler added that, as a rookie, he knew he was getting a guaranteed 15 minutes a night (more if he played better but rarely less) and that it made all the difference in his confidence. I try to keep this in mind when I see Williams, who you can see look toward the bench after a mistake, a tendency Williams admits he has because so far, in the NBA, one mistake has meant banishment to the end of the bench. That concern can kill confidence and make one hesitant and indecisive.

The kid has talent and it is a mystery (to me) as to what is going on behind the scenes with him.

 

McHale is a hardass, it is pretty simple really.

DD

 

I can appreciate Batman's take, he is a true artist and as such takes pride in potential creativity and contrarian thinking of players.

It would be like Van Gogh never having been given a paint brush, what would we have now?

The problem is that Terrence has only proven to be a gifted athlete, he has not proven to make his team better when he is on the floor, his style of game is one that requires he dominate the ball, or he gets lost, doesn't know what to do, or where to go, and starts to lose interest in things like defense and hustle.

I don't know if it is a personality disorder, or what, but the guy just can not concentrate for more than 20 seconds without that basketball, and his drifting away causes breakdowns on both offense and defense.

He is not a virtuoso with the ball in his hands either, he often tries stupid passes, that are just not available.

Now, here I will go off the tracks a bit and agree with Batman.....all that being said.....the guy needs playing time to find out if he will GET IT....some people just need someone to believe in them and live with their mistakes in order to grow.

BTW - that is exactly the same with Thabeet......I can not for the life of me figure out why we have all these options coming up and the organization has not taken the time to give them consistent minutes to see what they can do.

So, as much as I think Terrence is far from a finished product and seems to have emotional issues as in.....desperately seeking approval - I want him and others on the court.....

I mean we have NOTHING to lose.......I thought Morey brought in McHale because he would help develop players...he better hurry.

DD

 

TWill is an enigma, at least right now. An extremely athletic talent that has not shown that he can shoot over 40% from the field, didn't shoot very well in college, wants to be a playmaker but turns it over way too much trying to force plays and force passes, and he seems to be mentally fragile.

McHale has finally evolved to playing Goran at the 2 in the small guard lineup with Lowry. They have been somewhat effective with that lineup. I do want to see TWill get a true shot running the team from the top. Put him in the pick and roll/pop with Patterson on the second unit with Goran and CBud/Lee on the wings for the jumper and Dally/Hill underneath to clean up and let them roll for a quarter or so. Let him be the primary handle. I want to see if he improves. I know he could be effective. But he needs to be put in that position to improve or see if he will improve his turnover rate and play out all the options when the defenders overplay one way or the other.

I view TWill differently than Hasheem. TWill is not playing because McHale is still attempting to win games and he can't afford TWill's turnovers and eratic play and he's not willing to gamble on TWill's upside right now. Hasheem is not playing because...he can't play..period. There's nothing else to see with Hasheem. He's not going to grow into anything. It's been proven.

Nothing has been proven with TWill yet. When McHale finally realizes this is a lottery team, we may see TWill or at least when McHale realizes we aren't going to win consistently throwing out the bunch we are putting out there.

 

At this point I would also Like to see Morris play if Twill wont. Maybe if Bud senses some competition he'll wake up again.

 

Love this idea, but why not play him with Dragic and parsons? then he wouldn't have to guard the other team's point guard, and it would allow Dragic to be a shooting guard on offense, masking both of their short-comings nicely. Not to mention we'd have one of the best rebounding line-ups in the league.

I also think putting Williams in the PnR would limit his mistakes, because it makes forcing a pass less likely because it automatically facilitates ball movement.

 

1. McHale played him as a play-maker in the preseason games and first 5 regular games... And I don't see him effective as a play-maker... I do agree that TWill has great athletic talent, but he is lack of the skill set to break down the opponent defense as a play-maker... And that is not an experience issue... If he doesn't even have the basic skill set, it will be silly for a coach to play him at this position...
2. With his quickness and strength, I did see him has talent on defense end, but I'm not sure this is what he want to do...
3. According to his twitter, he has been working hard since the summer... Unlike Thabeet, McHale is still willing to sit down and talk to him, so I believe that is true... The only reason I can think of is he is distracted and still not willing to give up that play-maker position... Where he hits the dead end...

 

Terrence Williams has expressed frustration about his recent fall out of the rotation.
"I worry about what I can control," he said. "I've been great. I don't know what's going on." Kevin McHale said he plans to talk with Williams about it, but it's easy to understand Williams' frustration. He's picked up a DNP-Coach's Decision in each of his last two games and is best left on waiver wires. Source: Houston Chronicle Jan 12 - 8:17 AM

 

See that right there is his number 1 problem - he can control how he plays and force his way into the rotation, instead he blames others.

DD

 

He had moments in preseason as a playmaker. But he was never given the team to run from the top for an extended period of time.

I don't want to see it ad nauseum. I want to see it for a quarter in a blowout, when there is nothing on the line. And then one more time in another blowout to see if he improves. If he does then shift that quarter of action to a primary game that we are actually competing in, instead of a blowout, to see how he responds to playing against better opponents. On the other hand, if he really doesn't take the team by the neck and make something happen when he is given a whole quarter and decent shooters around him, then I don't think it's going to happen.

 

Thabeet and T-Will are totally different. There are no stories about T-Will having a poor work ethic. Thabeet has no work ethic. No work ethic = no potential. Two completely examples imo.

 

I'd like to see Bud moved anywhere if possible to get Morris and T-Will time. I just don't think he has much more value than a 2nd round pick. I dunno maybe the Knicks would want him for a 2nd? It would pretty much be the same spot where Bud was picked originally.

 

The difference is Hasheem has shown nothing in practice, in preseason games, and in the spot minutes that he has been given during regular season games. He has shown nothing this year and he has shown nothing last year or during the off season.

TWill has.

 

I don't understand what Drexler's words have to do with your assertion that TWill needs time.

What Drexler says about TWill applies to every other player on the Rockets. So the question becomes, "Who should take those 15+mpg?" McHale's answer was obviously Parsons. So now Parsons play consistent minutes. Can you blame McHale? When Parsons has shown to play well in both practice and garbage time? I mean, yes, Drexler got his 15mpg. What about other young players on his team? Did they all get 15mpg? Of course not. Drexler got his because his coach feels like he deserves the playing time.

So is TWill the "correct" young player to give that confidence to? I'm not sure the answer is yes at this point. But if he were to take minutes from someone, it would be Budinger. But that would have to come from Budinger sucking enough or TWill shows enough in practice. Until then, Drexler's example would apply to Parsons and TWill would be that guy on the end of the bench that rookie Drexler's coach decided wasn't good enough for consistent minutes.

 

AH, you mean Drazen Petrovic.

DD

 

Read clearly: Drexler himself said it about Williams. I don't have to assert a connection between Drexler's words and the player: Drexler did it himself.

It is clear where McHale feels the time should go. The question is whether playing Williams now is worth the additional presumably short term losses it would cost to find a way to use him. McHale so far has said no, despite any investment the team has made in the player. Williams clearly does not just plug into the line up. He is not a 3 and at least two other guys deserve the time at the 2. Too many assets, not enough team direction.

 

I agree with Batman Jones's take about Williams except for one crucial thing: his brain. I don't see any brain power there. In fact, I think his lack of intelligence is the biggest cause of his inability to put all his God-given talent and skills together. And I've been saying this for a long time. Intelligence is the most underrated talent in the NBA.

This is what I am worried about him. When an unproven player says, "I don't know why I am benched," he's got a huge problem. That means he doesn't understand the game at all. He doesn't understand what he needs to learn. It reminds me of Joey Dorsey. He said pretty much the same thing.

Contrast that to Patterson. He always says how the coaches or veteran teammates tell him things and he tries his hardest to do them. Pat is a learner. TWill is not. If you are not a learner, you don't have potential.