Marvin Williams Deserves More Playing Time For Charlotte Hornets In Second Half Of 2015-16

Marvin Williams never should have been drafted ahead of Chris Paul, but that isn’t the forward’s fault. Williams was coming off of a season as sixth man on the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that won the 2005 NCCA Championship, and he probably should have stayed in school at least one more year to learn how to be a leader.

But things have worked out excellently for Williams, and he’s praised throughout the league by former teammates and coaches. The Charlotte Hornets feel similarly about him.

“If there’s one negative about Marvin,” said head coach Steve Clifford to ESPN. “It’s that you have to tell him, ‘Don’t do anything tomorrow. Just rest.’ That is literally the worst thing I can say about him.”

Williams has been a godsend for them this season, and he should honestly be getting a lot more run. That is if the Hornets intend on making the playoffs this year.

Williams is averaging 10.5 points and leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game, and he is also almost leading them in blocks with 1.04 per contest. He is doing all of this while averaging only 29.1 minutes per game, and he has started in 53 matches this season, which is more than any of his teammates. It is also every single one the Hornets have played this year. Zach Lowe wrote an excellent article for ESPN.com that put Marvin in the starting lineup of the Luke Walton All-Stars. This is basically a team of glue guys and role players, and it celebrates talent who can fit their game into any system. Williams is doing just that.

He is shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range for a team that desperately needs spacing, and this is a skill that he worked on constantly when Clifford insisted that the Hornets have the ability to make defenses play off of Al Jefferson in the post. Williams has also added a floater to his game that gives him the opportunity to burn opposing defenders when they react to a shot fake.

The Hornets are a much better team for acquiring Williams, and they should encourage him to help them get more wins by playing him some additional minutes.