By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
Heading into the 2015-16 season, much was made of the Hornets offseason additions as General Manager Rich Cho and Assistant General Manager Chad Buchanan overhauled the roster, bringing in seven new faces through a trade, free agency or the NBA Draft. However, a little more than two weeks into the season, it has been one of last season’s additions that’s been one of the most impactful players, as the 29-year-old Marvin Williams seems to be having a renaissance on the court for Charlotte.
Williams has started every game for the Hornets so far and is putting up averages of 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds, while leading the team with three double-doubles.
“I just feel better. I’m in a lot better shape, so physically I feel better, and mentally I feel better,” Williams said of what has been different for him to start the season. “Any time you change teams, that first season is always kind of an adjustment period. Obviously last year didn’t go as well as I wanted it to go – not saying that it was terrible, but it wasn’t how I, or any of us for that matter, wanted it to go.”
So, entering his 11th NBA season, Williams made a conscious decision to change things – and to start by changing himself, showcasing the leadership skills that come with the veteran experience of leading by example. Williams knew he could not expect his teammates to better themselves, if he didn’t show the same commitment.
“I was here every day in the summer time, talking with (Head) Coach (Steve Clifford) every other day and working with other members of the coaching staff every day,” said Williams. “I knew what they expected of me and tried to work as hard as I could this summer to get ready for the season.”
Williams' efforts haven’t gone unnoticed – not by Hornets fans, his teammates, the coaching staff and most telling, the statistics. Numbers don’t lie and Williams’ have been impressive in the outset. He is averaging a career-best 8.8 rebounds per game and has already corralled 10-or-more rebounds in four games after only doing so in five contests last season. He logged back-to-back games with a double-double for the first time since 2/5/2011 and 2/8/2011 with 10 points and 10 boards at MIA (10/28) and 13 points and 12 rebounds at ATL (10/30), marking the fifth time he’s accomplished that in his career. After recording just one double-double in all of 2014-15, its easy to see that he’s having fun again out on the court while having already racked up three double-doubles.
“Basketball is always fun. Sometimes it can get difficult when you’re not winning and you feel like you should be, but at the end of the day, we all love this game too much to not let it be fun,” said Williams. “I’m having a great time. I’m enjoying myself here in Charlotte. I’m enjoying my role. I’m enjoying my new teammates. We all just want to have the best season we can.”
Williams knows that it's not just his work on the glass that will be important to the Hornets success if they want to get back in the playoff mix in the East. His ability to knock down a three-pointer from almost anywhere around the perimeter gives him the ideal mix of an inside-out game a stretch four needs to have in today’s NBA game. He hasn’t lost sight of that either and is knocking down a team-best 2.0 three-pointers each contest while shooting 44.4 percent behind the arc. After averaging just 6.1 three-pointers as a team in 2014-15, the Hornets have bumped their average to an astonishing 9.7 treys, trailing only Golden State (11.6) and Portland (10.4) in the rankings, and it is Williams who has been the best three-point shooter until this point.
“It’s cool because we have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball,” Williams said of the Hornets new style of play. “I’m sure Al (Jefferson) is loving it – hopefully he’ll see less double teams this year with as many guys as we have who can shoot the ball. We have a lot of guys who can make plays on the perimeter as well, so we’re enjoying it. We’re going to keep trying to push to get better and it will be fun to see where we’re at when March and April roll around.”
If Charlotte is in the playoff hunt at that time, there’s a good chance it will be because of Williams' efforts on the glass and accuracy from long range.
Key Matchup at Minnesota: Al Jefferson vs Karl Anthony-Towns
Timberwolves rookie Karl Anthony-Towns is off to a great start, averaging nearly a double-double (15.2 points, 9.6 rebounds) while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and turning away 3.0 shots per contest. He may be fourth in the NBA in blocks, but the rookie has never seen the types of moves that veteran Al Jefferson can eat younger players up with in the post, utilizing quadruple pump fakes and forcing first year players to test the limits of their defensive discipline. Jefferson dropped 25 pounds in the offseason and its showed, as the Hornets trimmed-down leader is posting averages of 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds while connecting on 56.1 percent of his shots. It’s veteran vs. rookie in this classic battle, and whoever gets the upper hand could determine the outcome in Minnesota.
Key Matchup vs. Knicks: Nicolas Batum vs. Carmelo Anthony
Both Nicolas Batum of the Charlotte Hornets and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks are looking to have bounce-back seasons coming off of rough 2014-15 NBA campaigns… Now in his first year in Charlotte, Batum tallied 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists last year in Portland, the former of which was his lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2008-09. Batum has looked sharp in Charlotte so far with averages of 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists, the last two of which rank tenth and fourth, respectively, in the NBA amongst small forwards… the former-scoring champion Anthony played just 40 games last year before undergoing season-ending knee surgery in February and would watch from the sidelines as the Knicks finished with a franchise-worst 17-65 record. Fully recovered and healthy for now, Anthony is averaging 22.8 points on 39.3 percent shooting along with 7.8 rebounds through New York’s first seven games… Expect to see two hungry players both with something to prove this season when Nicolas Batum and Carmelo Anthony square off on Wednesday night in Charlotte.