In
2015 and 2018, Los Angeles Clippers’ reserve Lou Williams was named Sixth Man
of the Year and throughout his 14-year career has displayed the ability to
provide instant offense off the bench for the six teams he has played for. On
Monday night, he was at his best once again and while making some serious NBA
history as well. h
With
34 points on 14 for 20 shooting of the bench in the Clippers 140-115 win versus
the Boston Celtics (41-27) late Monday night on NBATV, their fifth consecutive
win and sixth victory in their last seven games Williams surpassed Warren
Stephen “Dell” Curry as the all-time bench scorer in NBA history with 11,154
points and counting.
On
Friday night, Williams had 40 points in the Clippers 118-110 win over the
Oklahoma City Thunder (41-26), surpassing veteran reserve guard and three-time
Kia Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford of the Phoenix Suns for No. 2 in
career bench scoring in NBA history with 11,104 points and counting.
“It
means a lot. It’s a testament to my career,” Williams, who has averaged 23.1
points the last 12 games following the Feb. 7 trade deadline said to NBATV’s
Jared Greenberg after the win. “I’ve been a career bench player. Two-time (Kia)
Sixth Man of the Year. Hopefully get another one this year, so, it means a lot
to go down in the record books.”
Williams,
who is averaging 20.2 points in just 26.6 minutes per game this season is a big
reason why the Clippers (39-29) are the current No. 6 Seeded Clippers in the
stacked Western Conference.
The
32-year-old Williams, who has played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks,
Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Clippers in his career
has a season full of accomplishments. In the Clippers 106-101 win at the
Chicago Bulls on Jan. 25, Williams had his first career triple-double with 31
points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, joining former Indiana Pacer, Seattle Supersonic
and Portland Trail Blazer forward Detlef Schrempf as the only players in NBA
history to have a 30-point triple-double off the bench.
Williams
had 39 points in helping the Clippers rally from a 25-point deficit to win at
the Detroit Pistons (34-32) 111-101 on Feb. 2.
In
the Clippers 134-107 win versus the Suns (16-52) on Feb. 13, Williams had
registered 30 points and 10 assists off the bench in 22 minutes, becoming the
first player in NBA history with at least 30 points and 10 assists in fewer
than 23 minutes.
These
stellar performances by this season by the No. 45 overall pick in 2005 are just
a snap shot of what he has done in a career where he had never averaged fewer
than 23 minutes since the beginning of his third season back in 2007-08.
When
it was announced that Williams surpassed Curry to become the top bench scorer
in NBA history, he received a standing ovation from 19,068 in attendance at the
Staples Center. Even the Clippers bench was excited for Williams’ achievement
which occurred at the 9:53 mark of the fourth quarter when his connected on a
driving layup.
“I
wouldn’t want to do it with another group of guys, man,” Williams said to
Greenberg. “They respect what I bring to the table when they call me ‘Uncle
Lou,’ in the back. I’m one of the older guys on the team.”
“When
you got a great group of guys with great personalities and they’re cheering for
my wins like I cheer for them. So, I greatly appreciate it.”
This
great achievement for Williams comes as mentioned in season No. 14, where he
has started just 109 of the 923 career games to date.
This
night is also a great example for a man who was able to find his niche in the NBA
and have a serious impact on the six teams he has played for.
What
has kept him from sticking in one place for a lengthy period of time is that he
was someone who in the minds of other teams was just a shooter, who needed a
volume of shot attempts to get his points.
Last
year, the Clippers who acquired Williams in the Chris Paul trade with the
Houston Rockets on June 28, 2017 signed him to a three-year, $24 million
contract extension, giving the stability he had been looking for since his time
with the 76ers, where he played the first seven seasons of his career.
It
was also the first time in his career that a team made a serious investment in
Williams and he has fit in very well, which a five-time NBA champion said he
has a lot of respect for.
“I
think it’s extremely challenging. Most players at some point in their career
want the privilege and honor of saying, ‘I’m a starter in the NBA,’” five-time
NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early part and late part of the
2000s Derek Fisher said on the late night edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” “and
Lou Williams has accepted the fact that I can be great and come off the bench
my entire career, and I’m okay with that.”
“And
I think it says a lot about who he is as a man. The level of humility he spoke
with in that interview was really inspiring and I’m really happy that he’s as
successful as he is, and he’s having a wonderful career, and counting. This
guy’s going to score more points off the bench.”
After
the Clippers before and at the trade deadline in the early February signaled
that they were basically punting on the rest of this season and looking forward
to retooling the team this off-season with a boat load of cap space. Head coach
Glenn “Doc” Rivers squad has continued to get the job done, even after the
trade of their best player Tobias Harris to the 76ers on Feb. 6.
They
put that on display on Monday night against one of the best defensive teams in
the Celtics shooting 61.6 percent from the field, which according to
SportsRadar is the third best shooting night by a team since 2000. The 140
points the Clippers scored is the second most in 18 years, with 142-point
performance in a 142-94 win versus their Staples Center co-tenants the Los
Angeles Lakers on Mar. 6, 2014 representing the most.
The
Clippers bench outscored the Celtics reserves 67-46, led by the aforementioned
34 from Williams, and 20 points of fellow Kia Sixth Man of the Year candidate
Montrezl Harrell.
At
the conclusion of Monday night, Lou Williams became the all-time reserve scorer
in NBA history at 11,154 points and counting passing Dell Curry, who now is
second with 11,147 points, with Jamal Crawford (11,104 points and counting);
current Phoenix Suns color analyst for FOX Sports Arizona Eddie Johnson (9,569
points) and former Milwaukee Buck, Seattle Supersonic and Indiana Pacer Ricky
Pierce (9,513 points) right behind.
It
serves as a great example of a player who early on in his career found a role in
“The Association,” and turn himself into the most potent game-changer in “The
Association,” who is a major reason why the Clippers will make the playoffs
after a one-year absence.
“We’re
locked in man. We’re in a really good space right now, playing really good
basketball,” Williams said about the Clippers play as of late. “We got a
stretch where we got some top tier teams coming in, and we don’t want to be
taken lightly. So, we’ve been coming in locked in.”
He
added about their chances of making some noise in the playoffs in a matter of
weeks, “We’ll see. Only time will tell. We’ll take it one game at a time. We’ll
enjoy this win tonight and get ready for Portland tomorrow.”
Information,
statistics, and quotations are courtesy of https://www.nba.com/games/20190311/BOSLAC#/boxscore/recap;
3/12/19 5:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt
Winer, Derek Fisher and David Griffin, report from Jared Greenberg; 3/12/19 https://www.nba.com story, “Williams Passes Dell
Curry for Most Bench Points in NBA History;” www.espn.com/nba/games?gameid=401071679;
www.espn.com/nba/standings; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Curry;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Crawford;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Williams.
No comments:
Post a Comment