Sixers Breakdown: Dissecting Lou's Big Shots - 2/22/2011

By Adam Flango

Headed back to the locker room on January 8 in Detroit, the team hung their heads. The Sixers just lost an overtime game to the Pistons, a game they had a chance to win in regulation, but Lou Williams missed two free throws at the end of the fourth quarter that would have sealed the victory.

Williams had every right to be pouty or despondent. Instead, he turned to the team and said, “Sorry guys, but I'm going to help win more games for us than I'm going to lose.”

Williams' words were not said with cockiness or false bravado. They were spoken with a confidence that the team thrives on. Williams is not one to be shaken by a few missed free throws; his confidence is ingrained in his personality.

The fearlessness that has defined Williams' game is evident each time the wiry, 6-1 guard drives to the hoop and challenges big men. It can be seen in the steely, focused gaze on his face as the clock ticks down, a gaze that screams “I want the ball.”

But it is most evident in his ability to erase the memory of misses and willingness take game-changing, momentum shifting shots.

Five days after the Detroit loss, the Sixers were in another precarious position. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, the team was down two with under one minute remaining, but once again, there was little debate as to who wanted the ball. Williams calmly, confidently carried the ball up the court and nailed the game-winning three pointer.

Here we take a look at the developing plays from some of Lou's most crucial shots so far this season, including his game-winner over the Bucks.

This inbounds play is from the Sixers’ January 11 game against the Indiana Pacers. The Sixers had trailed for the majority of the game but made a run in the fourth quarter, rattling off 12 straight points, eight of which were scored by Williams.

This play was designed for Williams from the beginning. But as Williams runs off the screen by Thaddeus Young hoping for an open shot, his defender, Brandon Rush, fights through the screen, denying the inbounds pass and forcing Jrue Holiday to get the ball to Young, his secondary option. Holiday immediately gets the ball from Young and restarts what is essentially the same play, only initiated from the top of the key instead of the baseline.

As Holiday dribbles to the post, Williams jogs on the baseline behind Rush. Rush is caught staring at the ball and the second Williams sees this, he sprints along the baseline and off the screen again set by Young. This time, Young's screen is more effective and Williams is quick enough to get space for a shot.

Williams elevates as the trailing Rush attempts to get a hand in his face, but Williams calmly nails the shot and shifts the momentum to Philadelphia. It might not have been a last second shot, but it was a very important shot to keep his team in the game.

This play is from the end of the first half of the Sixers' January 7 win against the Chicago Bulls. With two minutes left in the second quarter, the Bulls were up by nine and in control of the game, but the Sixers generated a spurt to close the half.

With the shot clock turned off, Williams brings the ball up and the Bulls play a zone defense. Elton Brand makes a hard cut to the opposite high post, hoping his defender, Kurt Thomas, would follow, leaving Williams with a lane to the hoop if he can beat Derrick Rose. But because of the zone, Thomas stays in position, and Williams tries to get by Rose only to find Thomas waiting in his way.

Instead of forcing the play, Williams wisely slows down and bides his time. Brand then zips back to his original position, and Williams runs off Brand's screen. Though Lou is not open, Taj Gibson sees the screen and needs to stay home in case Rose can't fight through it. This leaves Hawes open for three, and Gibson overcompensates on the pump fake as he tries to close out on Hawes.

Hawes dips in for a more makeable shot, forcing Rose to shade his way, leaving Williams open for three. Hawes dishes the ball back to Lou, who uses a shot fake of his own to get Rose to leave his feet as he retreats back to his man. Williams then calmly drains three before Ronnie Brewer can contest and gives the team a boost heading into the locker room, momentum the team used en route to a 105-99 victory.

This last play from the Sixers' January 14 win against the Milwaukee Bucks might appear to be a classic one-on-one, playground battle, but there are subtleties that influence the play.

The Sixers are down by two with less than a minute to play. Here, Philly is in need of a win after losing two straight games, and with the game on the line, they turned to Williams.

Williams calmly brings the ball up the court against high-pressure defense from John Salmons. Lou runs off Brand’s creen, but the lane is clogged by Milwaukee's solid rotation and there is no clear passing lane to Brand, so Williams brings the ball back to the top of the key to reset the play.

The next nuance is very subtle, but key in getting Williams open. Elton Brand runs up to set the screen on Salmons on the opposite side. Salmons senses what’s coming and anticipates having to get through the impending screen. Notice he uneasily shuffles his feet and shifts his body weight to move where he thinks Williams where go, leaving him in bad defensive position.

Williams notices Salmons' flat feet and sees his opening. He sets and launches a three pointer to put the Sixers ahead and help earn the team a key victory.

Williams confidence taking big shots and fearlessness in attacking the rim give the Sixers a go-to guy in big moments.