Phx-Suns.Net

I love Alan Williams game. He ate that skinny kid Thon Maker for his lunch.

I wonder if Watson would consider starting Williams for a few games if he continues to outplay Alex Len like this. Or would there be politics involved such as Len's agent being upset or something since he's about to become a FA?

Williams entered the game in the third quarter and the Bucks finished on an 18-5 run. It was a layup drill. We most likely would have won this game if coach had played Len in the fourth.

Williams has great touch around the basket and he rebounds well but his defense was not good.

EDC wrote:Beasley with a bad shot giving us a chance only to be followed up by a bad shot from Bledsoe.

Bledsoe has been anything but clutch in the last couple games.

carey wrote:Tony Snell, Suns killer.

Bledsoe decided it would be best to leave him wide open.

Superbone wrote:

carey wrote:Tony Snell, Suns killer.

Bledsoe decided it would be best to leave him wide open.

That was completely on Booker. He jumped out and overplayed and let his guy go right by him. Bledsoe had to cheat off Snell or it would have been a wide open layup. I realize a 3 is worse, but you can't give them ANOTHER uncontested layup then. I played that back 5 times to show my 7 year old how not to play defense, and how your mistake can screw over your teammates and make it look like they did the wrong thing.

Indy wrote:

Superbone wrote:

carey wrote:Tony Snell, Suns killer.

Bledsoe decided it would be best to leave him wide open.

That was completely on Booker. He jumped out and overplayed and let his guy go right by him. Bledsoe had to cheat off Snell or it would have been a wide open layup. I realize a 3 is worse, but you can't give them ANOTHER uncontested layup then. I played that back 5 times to show my 7 year old how not to play defense, and how your mistake can screw over your teammates and make it look like they did the wrong thing.

I missed the game but checked the box score. Williams appeared to have a great statistical game. Is his defense as abysmal as others are saying? Did he allow the big run or was that a lack of communication and our perimeter guys being continually beat?

EDC wrote:Williams entered the game in the third quarter and the Bucks finished on an 18-5 run. It was a layup drill. We most likely would have won this game if coach had played Len in the fourth.

Williams has great touch around the basket and he rebounds well but his defense was not good.

Was it all on Williams or a combination of poor team defense and communication? I missed the game but based on what you're saying, he wasn't doing a good job on defense and shoulders the majority of the blame for the 18-5 run.

Watching highlights, I've got to say: Alan Williams reminds me a lot of Zach Randolph. Is that a fair baseline assessment? A poor man's / inexperienced Zach Randolph.

AmareIsGod wrote:Watching highlights, I've got to say: Alan Williams reminds me a lot of Zach Randolph. Is that a fair baseline assessment? A poor man's / inexperienced Zach Randolph.

I think a better comparison is DeJuan Blair, who played effectively several years with the Spurs. Save that Williams has healthy knees.

As for defense, Williams plays hard, but gets into foul trouble. The guys who were hurting us in the second half were the second team point guard, Malcolm Brogdon, and Antetokounmpo, who gives anybody/everybody fits. That's not on Williams as much as it is on the entire Suns' frontcourt.

"Was it all on Williams or a combination of poor team defense and communication?"

I would vote poor team defense and communication.
The Suns have a habit of being outcoached in the second half as the other team adjusts and the Suns stand pat.

Alan Williams needs to get in better physical shape in order to play better defense.

Superbone wrote:

EDC wrote:Beasley with a bad shot giving us a chance only to be followed up by a bad shot from Bledsoe.

Bledsoe has been anything but clutch in the last couple games.

Since he didn't make All-Star reserves he's mailing the rest of the season in. Probably hard to stay motivated at this point. Although he does get millions of dollars not to mail it in so...

djy2j wrote:

Superbone wrote:

EDC wrote:Beasley with a bad shot giving us a chance only to be followed up by a bad shot from Bledsoe.

Bledsoe has been anything but clutch in the last couple games.

Since he didn't make All-Star reserves he's mailing the rest of the season in. Probably hard to stay motivated at this point. Although he does get millions of dollars not to mail it in so...

The entire team knows what is up. Young guys are playing hard because this is their shot. Vets are finding it hard to be motivated when wins are not a priority.

JCSunsfan wrote:Alan Williams needs to get in better physical shape in order to play better defense.

He's actually in decent game shape. In his college days, he was up well over 300 and his coach told him to trim down or sit the bench.
He did and continued to do so playing in China.
When he came to the Suns, he worked out with Aaron Nelson during the summer and pared off another 10lbs or so to get to 265.
He's a big guy; he's never going look sleek.

Moreover I don't think he'd be effective if he were. He needs that bulk to keep guys out of the paint as he's only 6' 8".

Williams improved fg% this season is the best sign that he's in good enough shape. Last season he couldn't get his feet off the floor enough for even a layup. This year, he is hitting those close shots in traffic.

Taking a look at metrics, Williams has the second-best Defensive RPM on the team.

I'd say he was decent find for FA backup center.
He's a hometown guy with a great back story who's happy as hell to be in the NBA.

^ The new PJ Tucker, in a way.

Why wasn't Len used to slow down the Bucks run?