D-League Performer of the Week:Marcus Williams [Archive]

Spurs Brazil

03-10-2008, 05:35 PM

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/performer_080310.html

D-League Performer of the Week: March 10, 2008

Marcus Williams, Austin Toros

Marcus Williams of the Austin Toros is the 14th D-League Performer of the Week for the 2007-08 season. He is the first member of the Toros to earn the honor this season.

In two games for Austin this week, Williams averaged 32.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists and shot .666 (26-39) from the field while the Toros extended their winning streak to five games. Williams recorded his second and third double-doubles of the season during the week and scored a season-high 33 points in Saturday's win over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.

A 6-7 rookie forward from Arizona, Williams earned a GATORADE Call-Up to the San Antonio Spurs earlier this season. This season in the D-League he is averaging 18.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 29 games for the Toros.

thispego

03-10-2008, 05:36 PM

spurs should have drafted this guy

Mr.Bottomtooth

03-10-2008, 05:37 PM

:tu

Hopefully we invite him to summer league.

JMarkJohns

03-10-2008, 06:08 PM

If his injury is healed and his shot mechanics fixed, there's no reason he can't be an NBA player.

Bruno

03-10-2008, 06:09 PM

:tu Congrats Marcus.

On a side note, perimeters players drafted after Williams have been quite bad. It makes the mistake of waisting a 33rd pick less big.

K-State Spur

03-10-2008, 06:31 PM

Yeah, last year's draft (as of right now) isn't looking quite as deep as initially thought. It's quite possible that we already have the steal of the draft in Splitter (fingers crossed).

Agloco

03-10-2008, 06:35 PM

Yeah, last year's draft (as of right now) isn't looking quite as deep as initially thought. It's quite possible that we already have the steal of the draft in Splitter (fingers crossed).

I'd have to agree. Some analysts say he should have been a lottery pick a few years ago. I've never seem him in action though. We need an athletic 7-footer in a bad way.

Any Ian Mahinmi sightings?

urunobili

03-10-2008, 06:42 PM

T Park

03-10-2008, 06:44 PM

Tells you how bad the DLeague is.

Obstructed_View

03-10-2008, 06:58 PM

Tells you how bad the DLeague is.
Or how thin the draft was and what a good pick Williams actually turned out to be, considering he wasn't on the radar at the time.

T Park

03-10-2008, 07:01 PM

Maybe.

Mr Body Im sure is still convinced that his white boy Duke guy would've been better.

T Park

03-10-2008, 07:02 PM

I'd love for Williams to pan out.
If he does, looking for a wing in the offseason is easier and you can be more patient , especially with barry signed on for 3 years now.

Hopefully he can, his long arms and jumping ability would come in handy. WTF has turned around? Just better understanding of the game?

Supreme_Being

03-10-2008, 08:33 PM

.666 shooting? Me likey.

Solid D

03-10-2008, 08:45 PM

If Sanikidze were the D-League Performer of the Week, this thread would be 3x thicker.

(although I'm pulling for him :smokin )

Mr. Body

03-10-2008, 08:55 PM

Maybe.

Mr Body Im sure is still convinced that his white boy Duke guy would've been better.

Who? Duke? What? Hansbrough?

T Park

03-10-2008, 08:57 PM

Fuck if I know, the white guy that you were having a heart attack over that they didn't draft instead of Williams.

Mr. Body

03-10-2008, 10:28 PM

Fuck if I know, the white guy that you were having a heart attack over that they didn't draft instead of Williams.

I don't think there was a white guy on my list.

Bruno

03-10-2008, 11:04 PM

If Sanikidze were the D-League Performer of the Week, this thread would be 3x thicker.

(although I'm pulling for him :smokin )

Sanikdize has been this week Georgian league performer of the week.
:spin

His stats : 29 minutes, 26 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul.

texbumTHElife

03-10-2008, 11:10 PM

Fuck if I know, the white guy that you were having a heart attack over that they didn't draft instead of Williams.

Josh McRoberts?

yavozerb

03-10-2008, 11:11 PM

Sanikdize has been this week Georgian league performer of the week.
:spin

His stats : 29 minutes, 26 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul.
I say draft Dragic and sign sanikdize (austin bound) are some moves I would like to see this summer..

timvp

03-10-2008, 11:18 PM

The asterisk on how Marcus Williams is playing is that a lot of his production is coming at power forward. 6-foot-7, 200 PF works in D-League ... but not in the NBA.

But gotta give him props on improving. In summer league, Williams wouldn't have put up 33 points if you locked him in the gym alone for an hour. It'll be interesting if the Spurs or anyone else calls him up before the end of the regular season.

Bruno

03-10-2008, 11:24 PM

The asterisk on how Marcus Williams is playing is that a lot of his production is coming at power forward. 6-foot-7, 200 PF works in D-League ... but not in the NBA.

Have you seen him play lately ?

From what I've seen, he wasn't playing at all like a PF in his recent games.

timvp

03-10-2008, 11:48 PM

Have you seen him play lately ?

From what I've seen, he wasn't playing at all like a PF in his recent games.I watched a couple minutes of the last game until the feed died. Who do you say is playing power forward? DerMarr Johnson? Williams mostly played a pseudo PF position at Arizona and that's basically what he's doing now.

I'll try to watch a full game in the near future to get a more detailed view of what he's doing.

Bruno

03-11-2008, 12:03 AM

Who do you say is playing power forward? DerMarr Johnson?

In fact nobody.
When Toros go small it's quite similar to Spurs small ball.
Williams plays like a SG on the offensive end.

Mr. Body

03-11-2008, 01:19 AM

Josh McRoberts?

Oh, yeah. I thought Big Baby and McRoberts might have been better picks than MW, but was focused on SFs, most of whom haven't panned out. We'll see next season what happens, although Byars has already been out. Big Baby's productive for Boston, though.

SenorSpur

03-11-2008, 01:24 AM

Congrats to Marcus. Hope he can build on this.

We need swingman help sooooooooooo bad for next season.

K-State Spur

03-11-2008, 02:04 AM

Or how thin the draft was and what a good pick Williams actually turned out to be, considering he wasn't on the radar at the time.

He's a damn good athlete, got some real ups, and his shot is definitely better than what we saw at Arizona or the Summer League.

He may still have no long term place on the Spurs 15 man, but I will admit that it's not looking quite like the unbelievably horrible pick that many of us thought it was as recently as just a few months ago. Especially after taking into account what the roster has turned out to become this season, that wasn't a bad place to take a gamble.

wildbill2u

03-11-2008, 12:17 PM

AFBlue

03-11-2008, 02:51 PM

since so few 2nd rounders make it to the NBA and stick, it's not surprising that Williams didn't pan out in his first go-round. There is enormus pressure on rookies, especially one like Williams who was drafted by a veteran World Champion team.

The D-league and overseas give these guys a chance to improve and earn a spot (like Bowen from the CBA) or maybe an alternative career location where they can still play for pay.

I never understood all the hate directed at this kid just because of his limitations. The best estimate of his playing ability which determined his draft position was the responsibility and choice of the FO and coaches.

Good take...

But to add to that, I think the Spurs FO projected him as a player a couple years down the road anyways. I think his hope was to stick on the team's roster and sign a long term deal, but he was smart enough to stay in the system and work on improving his game so that he can be ready to step up when his name is called.

I would anticipate a training camp invite and wouldn't be surprised if gets a two-year min deal and stays in Austin for most of next year.

ChumpDumper

03-11-2008, 02:56 PM

I get the feeling Marcus was more a luxury tax casualty than anything else. Since there will be room under the tax threshold soon, I will not be surprised if the Spurs pick up Williams for the remainder of the season.

barbacoataco

03-11-2008, 03:00 PM

Is it for sure that Barry is being signed to 3 more years? That seems a little crazy, to think that he has 3 more seasons. I guess if he's cheap, he could be a Steve Kerr type role player, but it always seemed like Barry didn't do that well coming in cold and trying to hit the big shot.

ChumpDumper

03-11-2008, 03:03 PM

I thought Barry will be signed for just this season and the next.

Mr. Body

03-11-2008, 03:08 PM

I've dogged him in the past, but I'd like to see Williams back on the active roster this year. We desperately need some youth on the bench when the slagging old folks can't get it done.

ChumpDumper

03-11-2008, 03:44 PM

BTW, the Hawks signed Jeremy Richardson for the remainder of the season. There's really only one swingman left in the D-League with size and upside that could match that of Marcus at this point.

barbacoataco

03-11-2008, 03:53 PM

Mr. Body, How could Marcus Williams be on the active roster this year? Once Barry returns, the Spurs alreday have one too many swing men. I don't see how they could have another.

Bruno

03-11-2008, 05:45 PM

nba.com has a little video about Toros :

NBA TV takes in-depth look at the Austin Toros and their affiliation with the Spurs.

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/dleague/spurs_toros_dleague_access.asx

timvp

03-11-2008, 07:29 PM

nba.com has a little video about Toros :

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/dleague/spurs_toros_dleague_access.asxGood video.

Nice find :tu

In fact nobody.
When Toros go small it's quite similar to Spurs small ball.
Williams plays like a SG on the offensive end.I can buy that when Mahinmi is in the lineup. But when they run Serge Aasdlfawihwhawfh at center, I don't think it can be compared too much to what the Spurs do. Especially because when the Toros are small, they like to run. When the Spurs are small, they are still mostly a half court team.

And really, my concern is more defensively. From what I've seen of Marcus Williams, he's feet are too slow to allow him to be any sort of perimeter defender. He's a good team defender but I've seen him get lit up in one-on-one situations.

When the Toros go small, I imagine that Williams is defending power forwards more than DerMarr.

picnroll

03-11-2008, 07:43 PM

Mahinmi looks quite a bit more muscular in that video. Wonder what his weight is up to.

Ocotillo

03-11-2008, 08:37 PM

Marcus Williams!

picnroll

03-11-2008, 09:56 PM

Looks like another big game for Williams. 26 points and 10 rebounds after three quarters.

T Park

03-11-2008, 10:01 PM

And really, my concern is more defensively. From what I've seen of Marcus Williams, he's feet are too slow to allow him to be any sort of perimeter defender. He's a good team defender but I've seen him get lit up in one-on-one situations.

No way he could improve that?

ace3g

03-11-2008, 10:40 PM

Toros vs ABQ is in OT
Toros 1st OT Thunderbirds
123 4:03 123

ace3g

03-11-2008, 10:45 PM

DerMarr Johnson is going for 50 pts, he has 43 right now

Toros 1st OT Thunderbirds
132 1:15 129

ace3g

03-11-2008, 10:48 PM

Toros 1st OT Thunderbirds
132 0:23 133

ace3g

03-11-2008, 10:51 PM

(0:23)[AUS] Williams Turnover:Palming Turnover (8 TO)

they call it in the NBDL but not NBA I guess

ace3g

03-11-2008, 10:53 PM

Toros 1st OT Thunderbirds
132 0:14 135

after 2 fts by the Thunderbirds, the toros can still tie it up with a 3

loveforthegame

03-11-2008, 11:01 PM

Is it slow to update or is that the longest timeout ever taken?

ace3g

03-11-2008, 11:05 PM

Toros Final Thunderbirds
134 137

Toros lose

loveforthegame

03-11-2008, 11:05 PM

Crappy finish to the game with the Toros losing but nice lines by Johnson and Williams.

ace3g

03-11-2008, 11:05 PM

yeah I was like whats going on, it said SHORT timeout

Bruno

03-12-2008, 05:00 AM

ChumpDumper, do you know what is D-League playoff format ?

Clippers haven't re-signed Barrett and they will try to sign Smush Parker when he will clear waivers. Let's hope he will decide to come back in D-League.

ChumpDumper

03-12-2008, 05:06 AM

It would be nice to get Barrett back. Still a little perplexed by the presence of Eric Dawson on the road. I can only guess he's really close to coming back. The Toros will have to waive someone if they both rejoin the team.

As for the playoffs, they are greatly expanded this season:

Playoffs: The winners of all three divisions as well as the three teams with the next best records will qualify for the D-League playoffs. The two division winners with the best records will receive a first-round bye, while the remaining four teams will play in a one-and-done format. The winners will face the two teams that received byes, also in a one-and-done game, for the right to advance to the D-League Championship. This year's championship will be a best-of-three series. The team with the better record will host games two and three (if necessary).

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/season_primer_0708.html