by Sam Perley
Despite going 0-of-5 from the field in the Hornets’ Game 4 win in Charlotte on Monday night, head coach Steve Clifford was still remarkably impressed with the efforts of veteran Marvin Williams, particularly from a defensive and leadership standpoint. Following more of a performance that Charlotte fans have grown accustomed to seeing from Williams all season long in the team’s thrilling Game 5 victory in Miami two nights later, one can only imagine the level of praise worthy of being bestowed on him now.
Outside of a 12-point, 14-rebound outing in Game 3, it’s been a relatively rough series for Williams on the offensive end as the 11th-year veteran has combined for just two points on 1-of-22 shooting in the other three contests. None of that mattered in Game 5 though as the Charlotte forward notched a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-of-4 from three-point range), while also leading the team in both rebounding (eight) and steals (three) in 30 minutes of play, resulting in a dramatic 90-88 victory on Wednesday night.
Williams, one of the more experienced postseason veterans on the Hornets roster with now 47 career playoff games to his name, picked a perfect time to continue his resurgent year. The former North Carolina Tar Heel finished the regular season with averages of 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in a staggering team-high-tying 81 total games played, which is no small accomplishment for somebody in his second decade of NBA basketball.
Statistics can be a tell-tale sign of a player’s influence on a particular game but they aren’t the sole determining factor, which was firmly noted by Clifford following the team’s Game 4 victory on Monday night.
“Marvin’s defense [in Games 3 and 4] has been unbelievable. Not just his individual defense [but also] his team defense and team rebounding [has been great]. One of the reasons he’s not scoring is because he’s playing the [small forward position]. He played a terrific game. I don’t care if he scored or not,” said Clifford.
Intangibles can be as underrated a skill set as anything a NBA player can have and the Hornets are fortunate to have somebody like Williams who possess many of them. Shots might not fall every night but finding a way to make an impact whether defensively, emotionally or as a leader is an invaluable asset to any team in the league. With a potentially monumental Game 6 scheduled for Friday night in Charlotte, fans can be assured that Marvin Williams will be bringing anything and everything he has to the table with a series-clinching opportunity on the line for the Hornets.