The NBA season is starting to close in. Now, less than a month away, the LA Clippers will take on the Lakers for the official opening game of the NBA Season. The Clippers’ roster namely showcases two incredible players that will stand out but won’t affect the essence of team play.
The addition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George won’t change Lou Williams’ mindset. Williams is at the core of the Clipper dynamic and knows that how they play won’t be affected by the historic additions. The same intensity will be shown and the same effort and beneficial rotations will be heavily implemented by Doc Rivers and his surrounding coaching staff.
Last season, Lou Williams made a statement. He proved everyone wrong, again. Not only was he dominant in every category off of the bench, averaging 20 pts per game, but he was a leader. He came out in clutch time when the team needed him most and delivered. There were several instances were the most dominant sixth man in the league was “carrying” the team to victory throughout the whole game and especially in the fourth quarter. His offensive talent seems to be not replicated in today’s NBA.
A significant difference in Williams’ role off the bench was definitely his playmaking ability. Masterfully woven into the offense of every play, Williams’ capitalized on his relationship with Montrezl Harrell and dynamically formed one of the most unstoppable duos in the League, interestingly enough, off of the bench. Their connection strengthened and that heavily contributed to Williams’ average of 5.4 assists per game.
In addition to his monstrous year, Lou Williams concluded with winning Sixth Man of the Year. He gave a wonderful speech at the 2019 NBA Awards and thanked the Clippers organization, players and staff.
As of recent, Williams exclaimed why he doesn’t care if he will lose touches playing alongside the likes of George and Leonard. This has always been his nature. He likes the role off of the bench and if the team is succeeding Williams couldn’t see any problem with upping his numbers. He just wants to win and at the end of the day see his team succeed in the most effective way possible.
He said to The Athletic on September 30th, “At the end of the day, I am a sixth man, I am a backup. No matter how much you dress it up, no matter how much history I’ve made, no matter how many special things I’ve done off the bench, I’m still a backup and I understand that to the core of me.”
One of the most humble prolific scorers in the NBA, Lou Williams is holding his ground for Sixth Man of the Year during the 2019-2020 season. His impact on and off the court will never be forgotten and now he has an opportunity to add a championship to his resume. I’m sure this opportunity won’t go to waste as Williams is at the home stretch of his career.