INDIANAPOLIS — The question isn’t new. In fact, it has been asked so much that no matter how it’s worded, it sounds the same:
When is it going to click consistently for Bulls forward Patrick Williams?
Definitely not in Wednesday’s 129-113 loss to Indiana in which Williams went 0-for-5 from the field and seemingly got some extra time on the bench in the third quarter.
“Yeah, it did,” Williams admitted.
Did he speak with coach Billy Donovan about it or ask for an explanation?
“Nah, I don’t play the game that way,” Williams said. “Never have I ever asked for extra minutes or touches or anything like that. You play the game, and if you’re good enough, they’ll get you the ball. That’s kind of how I’ve always played. That’s how I think a team should be run.”
It’s all well and good that Williams isn’t making waves off the court by complaining, but this is the fifth NBA season for the No. 4 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He got paid last July with a new five-year, $90 million contract, and now it’s time for some consistent return on investment. No waves, fine. But maybe some steadier splash on the court?
“Yeah, he’s got to be more consistent,” Donovan said Wednesday after the loss.
The Bulls’ staff has tried different routines with Williams, with different coaches focusing on him at different points. The one doing much of the heavy lifting these days is Peter Patton, director of player development, who seemed to be getting somewhere in November as Williams scored in double digits in five straight games (with a nine-assist game mixed in) and looked more aggressive on the glass. But after a foot injury cost Williams almost a month of action, it feels like he’s back to zero.
Considering the Bulls’ struggles against the Pacers, Wednesday would have been a good night for Williams to speak up.
“For sure,” he said. “But to be honest, there weren’t many opportunities. We were in the half-court. We didn’t get a chance to play in transition. We were taking the ball out of the net every time, or we were fouling.
“In the half-court, it’s obviously a little tougher. We have plays and sets that we run where we trust the ball in [Coby White’s] hands, [Zach LaVine’s] hands, [Josh Giddey’s] hands, [Nikola Vucevic’s] hands, and I think as of now in my career, at least up to this point, a lot of my buckets have come off closeouts, transitions, getting downhill that way. That’s where I am in my career — or where they have me at in my career.”
Williams added it’s not a pecking order as much as his playing style opening up more opportunities when the Bulls are running with pace. As the game gets into the third and fourth quarters, he said, the pace slows down, limiting the opportunities he gets.
Is that an excuse, or is there truth behind it? The numbers point to the latter. Williams has averaged 5.9 points on 5.1 shot attempts in the first halves of games this season, and 3.7 points on 3.4 shot attempts in the second halves. But is that because the ball isn’t finding him at all, or because he’s passing it off?
Either way, the Bulls will need to work on keeping Williams involved if they want him to live up to the contract they gave him.
What isn’t an option is Donovan making him a reserve rather than a starter.
“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m looking at a lineup change, because I’m not,” Donovan said.
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