There's been a ton of talk around here lately that Louis Williams has been hurting the Sixers and is ultimately standing in the way of future progress. Most of this talk has been from me. And most of it is probably overblown. Lou gets to the line at a great clip and is one of the only players on the team who can create for himself. Realistically, because of the way voters look at statistics, he has a decent shot at winning the 6th man of the year award. Doug Collins gives him the ball at the end of the game and Jrue Holiday (among others) defers to him when a play needs to be made.
BUT.
As we've said again and again, this team is not a championship team this year or next year. They are more than one piece away. Right now the only player on the team that is basically guaranteed to help is in a deep playoff run in the coming years is Jrue. The second overall pick, however, has the highest ceiling of anyone on the team. Evan Turner could be a special player. His play this year hasn't shown it but his adjustment curve indicates this was to be expected. The only way you can find out if Turner can grow into the player we all hope he can be is if Lou Williams stops doing everything we don't want him to do.
Stop shooting so much.
Stop dribbling out most of the shot clock.
Stop chucking three's like you're Reggie Miller.
Stop rapping. Keep rapping.
With Lou taking Evan's minutes and more importantly his opportunities, our pal Dweebowitz has sent me three pictures that will form the Louis Williams Hate Advisory Index. Proceed to the jump for Dweeb's creation.
(AP Photo - Duane Burleson)
Sepia Lou: He's on the bench, perhaps coming up with more rap lyrics. Jrue is playing well. Things are calm.
Lemon Lou: He's on the court, not running an offense -- just trying to break his man down. He'll probably be pump-faking upwards of four times. His conscience is nowhere to be found.
Fire Engine Lou: We've reached the danger zone. He's taking all the shots within the last three minutes of the game, trying to draw fouls when they aren't there, and only playing isolation basketball. He's gambling too much on defense, where he's guarding a player six inches taller than him. Bucket=stop=bucket applies here. Stop signs can be used at will.
All three versions of Lou are terrifying in their own way. With less than a month until the trade deadline, Lou's play could land him on a contender and an unsuspecting fan base that's not ready for a 28.1% usage rate.
Boss.