The Dish, aka The Assist. It’s my favorite part of the game because it’s the most philanthropic. While most casual observers appreciate the dudes that can get buckets, my informal education as a New York City playground point guard stipulated that I acknowledge, comprehend and cherish the brilliance of the pass that led to the basket, as well as players with an innate ability to make others better.
And right about now, Deron Williams seems to stand head and shoulders above every point guard in the league.
With Utah’s injury list resembling that of a mobile armed forces surgical hospital, D-Will propped the Jazz up in their surprising 114-111, Game 2 victory over Melo and the Nuggets. He finished with 33 points and 14 assists, while bullying his way into 18 free throw attempts. He ran his team flawlessly, controlling the game’s pace and flow as if orchestrating the action via joystick.
The one undeniable factor in Williams’ brilliance is his toughness, which has been part of his personal make-up since the shorty days. Deron was a Texas state wrestling champion in elementary and middle school.
At The Colony High School, the pass-first floor general was often overlooked. His teammate Bracey Wright, who went on to play college ball at Indiana, was the more celebrated player. While the college recruiters were pushing Williams aside to get in his friend’s ear, he used those perceived slights as fuel.
“It motivated me a lot to see the attention Bracey was getting,” Williams told the Dallas Morning News in ‘07. “He deserved it, but at the same time, I wanted that same attention. It made me work harder. It made me want it a lot more.”
In addition to Wright, other area players received the lion’s share of accolades and attention. Lincoln’s Chris Bosh and Cedar Hill’s Daniel Horton joined Wright as participants in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game, which D-Will watched at home. Garland High School’s Ike Diogu was another high profile talent. Plenty of locals also insisted that Bryan Hopkins, Bosh’s teammate on Lincoln’s mythical national championship team, was the area’s best and most exciting point guard.
As a freshman at Illinois on ‘02-’03, Williams started 30 of the team’s 32 games, averaging six points and five assists. As a sophomore, he upped the ante by averaging 14 points and six dimes, earning First Team, All-Big Ten honors.
But it was his junior year where his brilliance received full recognition on a national scale. He led the Illini through an undefeated campaign, until they finally took an L in the regular season finale against Ohio State.
The one unforgettable image I have of Illinois’ run to the National Championship game was the Elite Eight battle against Arizona. That contest was one of the greatest and most exciting games in the history of March Madness.
Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head and the remainder of the Fighting Illini crew staged a furious fifteen-point comeback in the game’s final minutes. Deron hit a game tying three at the close of regulation and the go ahead long distance bucket in overtime.
In the 75-70 title game loss to the North Carolina crew of Raymond Felton, Sean May, Jackie Manuel, Marvin Williams, Melvin Scott, Rashad McCants and Jawad Williams, Deron fought the good fight with 17 points, seven assists and four boards. With Illinois down by 15 in the second half, Williams again led his team back into contention, but Luther Head’s three-point attempt, which would have tied the score with seconds remaining, missed the mark.
Despite the crushing defeat, D-Will left no doubt that his talent would ever be glossed over again. The Jazz selected him with the third overall pick in the NBA draft after that stellar junior season.
After his All-Rookie season, he was handed the keys to John Stockton’s point guard kingdom by his notoriusly tough coach, Jerry Sloan. The Jazz proceeded to bolt out of the gate with a 12-1 start. Not even the great teams of Stockton and Malone ever got off to that type of start. In January, he dropped 31 on the Pistons. A few days later, he dished out 21 assists against the Grizzlies. Utah finished 51-31, winning the division title. The Jazz were back in the playoffs after a three year absence.
Williams closed out the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of their first round series in Super Star fashion with a supreme, first game 7 appearance, double-double of 20 points and 14 assists. He went on to lead Utah into the Western Conference Finals, a place the franchise had not been since ‘98.
Despite falling to the incomparable Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, defender extraordinnaire Bruce Bowen was among the many that were impressed by the young fella’s accomplishments.
“That’s what’s missing today in the NBA is solid point guards,” said Bowen. “You have the scoring guards, you have guards that can’t do some things. With him, it’s special because he spent that time in college and learned more and more about the game of basketball. So he goes to a team that really needs a great point guard and he just fits the mold of a young Stockton.”
Some of his accomplishments in his short career compare to some all-time greats. Dude already has four 20 assist games. Nash is the only active cat that can claim that.
For all of those folks in Texas that slept on him in high school, he exacted some form of revenge while copping the Gold Medal with the Redeem Team in the ‘08 Beijing Olympics and appearing in this year’s All-Star bonanza at the sparkling new Texas Stadium.
Oh, and the 33 point, 14 assist gem the other night in game 2? Yo, that was on the road! And the only other Jazz player to go over 30 and 10 in the playoffs was the incomparable Stockton.
His team might be undermanned and limping through this year’s playoffs, but by now, it should be clear to never underestimate the brilliance and elevating factor of D-Will. And the cat is just getting started.
April 22nd, 2010 at 3:23 pm
funkalot says:
ALi,
Nice piece. I always appreciate the little tidbits you provide on a player, like the Texas State wrestling chips and how he claims 4 twenty assist games, thus far in his career.
He really was overshadowed coming out of high school. He played on a B-level AAu squad from Texas the Forth Worth Lions. The A-Team from Texas was Bracey Wright and B-Hop’s Team Texas squad which caught wreck in the Summer of ‘01.
But the lesson learned is you can never tell what is in a player’s heart, that intangible will and motivation to succeed. See Mike, D-Rodman, C-Barkley, J-STockton as prime examples. Now we add the name of D-WIll, to that honored grouping.
I believe, right now, he is the “L’s” best overall PG.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:02 pm
ali says:
yeah funk, i think some of that background info adds more nuance to understanding some of these guys.
and i can’t repeat it enough, you can never tell what’s in a player’s heart. i’m fascinated with the pippens and dumars of the world, guys who coupled an insatiable appetite for greatness with a rare hunger, work ethic and desire.
i use these athletic parallels when mentoring young people, the sports personification of the oft quoted statement of some streetcorner philosopher – “it ain’t where you from, it’s where you at!”
i tell my knuckleheads (i use the term with love) all the time, live (and ball) so that you create wondrous beauty with your efforts, leaving a lasting legacy of greatness. in everything you do, do it as if it’s the last time you’ll ever get a chance to do so.
manu, gilbert, ben wallace, van exel, doc rivers, carlos boozer, avery johnson, mase in your face, bruce bowen, hornaceck, mark price, spud and many others went from ashy to classy, despite the doubters.
they weren’t mcdonald’s all americans. just because the only fast food franchise giving you love is tyrone’s chicken box, that doesn’t mean that you can’t hit that crescendo.
wise man once told me, “although what the future holds is uncertain, one step leads to many, therefore the rise of man knows no bounds.”
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Nelson says:
yes, yes, yes, its about time Ali. thanks man.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:07 pm
ali says:
and i’ve got d-will and chris paul sharing that top spot. i can’t honestly say that one is nicer than the other. i could watch either of those cats play all day, every day and twice on sunday. ya’heard!
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:23 pm
ali says:
no doubt nel.
tell your man the knicks could use a pg of his calibur.
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
funkalot says:
Ali,
I would give D-Will a slight edge since CP3 has been on a milk carton for most of this season, but when healthy you are correct its relative.
Listen, start doing a Foreign Funk piece on dudes like Dirk, Nicholas Batum, TP and my guy, one of the toughest covers in the “L”. Mano, Mano Manu Ginobili. He gets it in seriously. I love how hard he goes and then he puts a little funk on his shiz, too. What! “hard as steel and still getting harder”
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:31 pm
funkalot says:
Ali,
I appreciate the “real model” wisdom that you dispense to the the yungn’s. Lines that you spit beget more real rhymes in life. Keep rappin!
April 23rd, 2010 at 8:46 am
illest says:
i always thought williams was better than paul. i would take rose over paul right now. rose does it all. he took on the challenge of going against james and won the game. its all preference. westbrook (someone on here maybe blk or funk tried to downplay his play earlier this year) is just as sick. tell me something he cant do. you cant go wrong with either of these point guards. for the watchable factor ill take rose first then williams.
how about durant guarding bryant in the 4th and changing that game? brooks definitely needs to consider that in game 4 in stretches of the game. he shut down bryant and made him unwilling passer which is something i know he didnt want to do last night. and the 19 rebounds and the clutch shots at the end. son is unbelievable. i dont like his body language all the time but he battles.
one day people will realize manu is left handed.
April 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 am
Blk Caesar says:
Wasn’t me baby!!! When we were talking about the OKC game against the Knicks in one of our many discussions the first thing I wrote was how impressed I was with Westbrook’s development.. OK I am going to say this b/c none of the “experts” said it last night on the broadcast.. Kobe took alot (and I repeat) alot of bad shots last night.. I kept watching and yelling “Why?”.. I know he is the mamba, but dawg some of those shots were just really poor decisions.. Also, you mean to tell me its that’s difficult to get Gasol and Bynum touches with that kind of height advantage??? I was really baffled watching the Lakers last night.. Gasol needs to touch the ball more..
April 23rd, 2010 at 10:32 am
Blk Caesar says:
I agree that when CP3 is healthy they are both on par with each other.. Personally, I prefer Williams b/c of his size and shooting ability.
April 23rd, 2010 at 10:32 am
illest says:
bryant will never change his shot selection. durants defense forced some of those bad shots. when you have two 7 footers like the lakers do they should not be out rebounded.
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
ali says:
incredibly impressed w/ durant last night, proving that you can still dictate a game’s outcome even if your shot’s not falling. he is a baller who impacts the game in so many ways. and the way he lit it up and took over in the fourth, while shutting kobe down? c’mon! he’s 21!!!
and westbrook’s development has been phenomenal. him and durant scored their final 22 points or something like that. dem young boys are TOUGH!
i remember all the so-called experts castigating the thunder for picking russ with the 4th pick in ‘08. granted, dude only avg’d 8 points and 3 assists during his two years in college, but the explosiveness and speed are now melding with his maturing and evolving skill set, along with advanced IQ, to produce some crazy results.
for folks that don’t understand people getting drafted on potential, look no further than westbrook as example 1a.
both of the tnt games were outstanding last night. has expansion really diluted the talent and harmed the product of nba ball? these 1 v 8 matchups look more than pretty good to me.
hinrich and rose were awesome, and noah is growing by leaps and bounds. if i was cleveland, i’d be practicing free throws until game 4 b/c that was the difference.
and ya’ll catch how slick james harden played last night for okc? and ibaka is another dude w/ some high ceiling potential. i can’t wait til they tip tomorrow.
ya’ll peep j-rich’s stat line for phoenix last night?
i don’t think d-rose is at that chris paul/d-will level quite yet. but when he goes airborne, he sure does look a lil’ more exciting, same physical wow factor as westbrook.
oh, and westbrook’s flush in odom’s grill. ooooohhhh!!! after that, they couldn’t be stopped. and what a crowd in OKC.
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
illest says:
i dont agree. rose is there. he is an all star already. he can score and pass just like williams and paul. he is just as clutch as williams hitting big shots. remember last year and definitely last night by going right by james to the basket with runners and jumpers. definitely more explosive and can handle the ball just as good as williams and paul. plus he has been in the playoffs two years in a row and for the most part played well. look at what im sayin son. rose is there without doubt.
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
illest says:
i understand rose assists game isnt 10 per game like will/paul but why pass when you can score as easy as he can. i dont want to see him pass. i enjoy watching him go to the basket with the herky jerky dribble then quick crossover to a jumper or floater.
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
ali says:
rose is close, but he ain’t there yet. gotta average that double-double to get in that d-will, chris paul category. no slight to the young fella. he’s a certified beast. and he’ll get there soon enough. rose and williams also cannot claim the sticky fingers in the steals game that paul can, either.
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:50 pm
ali says:
and i’m not mad at all about the ncaa tourney expansion proposal to 68. i was vehemently opposed to the 96-team proposal. and the fact that every game will now be televised live is stupendous. the basic structure of the tourney remains the same. honestly, i didn’t want to see any change at all, but with the money being tossed around, you knew some change was coming. now, i just need to make sure i have truTV to go along with cbs, tnt and tbs next march.
April 23rd, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Ok I am back on my soapbox… You build a 10-0 lead by going in the post and basically abandon it for the rest of the game??? Ali, Rose is balling man.. If he’s not there yet… He is not that far behind those two..
April 23rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
ali says:
i know he’s balling caese, that’s irrefutable. i love watching him and he’s a special with some all-time type talent. he’s very close, and i might be splitting hairs here, but if he ain’t averaging 10 assists, then he needs to be putting up about 26 a night with his six dimes (or so) to get in that pg penthouse with chris paul and deron williams. he’s in the elevator, at the top floor, ready to land on the roof with those guys. won’t be long now. i’m not knocking the kid one bit. he’s on the precipice and might very well be there next year. i just think he’s inches away. average that double-double, get your steals numbers up, then it’s on.
April 23rd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
illest says:
i dont care about the steals or the double double. that doesnt mean hes not there or that they are better. those are just numbers. look at his play, ali. rose is doing exactly what those guys are doing. you cant use numbers to justify who is better especially since you are seeing what he is doing right now and the last few playoffs series. in the playoffs (when it matters and since you are bringing up numbers) he is averaging 27 and 8. i know you arent knocking him. but hes definitely there.
blk….its all bryant. thats the way it has always been. you shouldnt be surprised.
it made no sense to have only one play-in game. thats how dumb those people who make the decisions with the tournament are. when they added the 65th team years ago i always said why not 68?
April 23rd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
ali says:
warden, would you rather have your point guard, over a full 82 game season, avg 21 points, 11 assists and 3 steals or 20 points, 6 assists and less than one steal per game? without anything else entering into the equation, which would you choose? and which would you say was the better player, just based on the facts provided?
April 23rd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
illest says:
doesnt matter. you just gave me pauls stats and roses stats and right now i would take rose. assists number can be off since those rely on teammates making shots. paul does indeed get more steals but his defense doesnt impact the game enough to where its a notable difference. he isnt stopping guys like a payton or richardson. he gets passing lane steals, which are still steals but that doesnt make him better. i love pauls game. but right now i would rather have and watch rose.
i hope wade doesnt go to chicago unless he would realize that chicago is roses town and team (i know where wade is from). i dont know why wade would want to leave south beach but the heat arent very good. but a wade/rose backcourt would be scary.
April 23rd, 2010 at 3:33 pm
ali says:
you didn’t answer my question though, but i smell what you’re cooking. i’d take chris paul over rose right now, but that margin is ever so slim.
wade and rose together? that would be nice. i wanna see chris paul joined on the knicks roster after next season by carmelo.
April 23rd, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Do you guys really think a Wade and Rose backcourt would work though?? Wade needs the ball in his hands and so does Rose.. Neither are fantastic at moving without the ball..
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:02 pm
ali says:
they are both intelligent enough, both with hall of fame type skill sets and ceilings to figure out how to make it work caese. one thing they haven’t proven to be are selfish, me-first prima donnas. i know they could do it, with spectacular results. everybody thought clyde and pearl couldn’t pull it off too.
April 24th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Blk Caesar says:
True about Clyde and Pearl, but Holzmann had a lot to do with that backcourt working as well. I don’t view either as me-first.. I am just a little skeptical that it would work the way people would envision. However, it would be fun to see them try.
April 25th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
ali says:
man, the lakers haven’t gotten slapped around like that in the playoffs since the celtics clinched the finals against them in game 6 a couple years ago. this OKC/LA series just got incredibly interesting. memo to NBA – lebron, melo, kobe, etc, ya’ll better get what you can get right now. because the future belongs to kevin durant.
we’ve seen it in high school, at texas and now in the pros at the age of 21. the kid will soon be the undisputed!
April 25th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
funkalot says:
2009-10 Postseason EFFICIENCY LEADERS : Efficiency Per Game
Displaying results 1-50 of 77 found
Results: 1-50 51-77 Next »
PLAYER NAME, TEAM NAME GP MPG PTS EFF RPG APG STPG BLKPG EFF48M EFF
1 Deron Williams , UTA 3 40.7 27.7 30.7 2.0 11.7 1.7 0.33 36.41 30.67
2 Dwyane Wade , MIA 3 40.0 29.7 29.3 5.0 6.3 1.7 2.0 34.98 29.33
3 Jameer Nelson , ORL 3 36.0 25.7 27.0 3.3 4.7 2.7 0.0 35.77 27.0
4 Russell Westbrook , OKC 4 34.5 21.8 26.2 6.5 5.2 1.0 0.25 36.53 26.25
5 Jason Richardson , PHX 4 33.0 25.0 24.8 6.5 1.0 0.8 0.25 35.96 24.75
6 Manu Ginobili , SAS 3 36.3 21.3 24.3 4.7 5.7 2.7 0.33 32.31 24.33
7 Joe Johnson , ATL 3 40.0 24.7 23.7 5.7 5.0 2.3 0.67 28.46 23.67
8 Derrick Rose , CHI 3 42.7 27.3 22.7 3.7 8.3 1.0 0.0 25.4 22.67
9 John Salmons , MIL 3 38.0 19.7 20.0 3.3 4.3 3.0 0.67 25.36 20.0
10 Steve Nash , PHX 4 35.2 16.5 19.8 2.5 10.8 0.2 0.0 27.0 19.75
Hollinger Stats – Player Efficiency Rating – Qualified Point Guards
RK PLAYER GP MPG TS% AST TO USG ORR DRR REBR PER VA EWA
1 Chris Paul, NOR 45 38.0 .584 36.6 8.5 23.3 1.3 11.9 6.5 23.74 325.6 10.9
2 Steve Nash, PHO 81 32.8 .615 39.3 13.0 24.5 1.5 9.4 5.7 21.67 423.5 14.1
3 Deron Williams, UTH 76 36.9 .574 34.9 11.0 24.8 2.2 10.4 6.4 20.62 402.5 13.4
4 Chauncey Billups, DEN 73 34.1 .601 23.1 10.0 23.6 1.2 9.3 5.3 20.25 343.8 11.5
5 Rajon Rondo, BOS 81 36.6 .540 38.4 11.9 21.1 4.3 10.5 7.5 19.18 361.9 12.1
6 Gilbert Arenas, WAS 32 36.5 .511 21.8 11.1 31.2 1.7 11.6 6.6 18.76 135.4 4.5
7 Derrick Rose, CHI 78 36.8 .532 21.2 9.8 26.3 2.6 8.7 5.7 18.69 329.3 11.0
8 Tyreke Evans, SAC 72 37.2 .529 20.7 10.8 25.4 2.8 13.6 8.1 18.28 291.0 9.7
April 25th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Love Durant, but you have to slow your roll on that “undisputed” thing.. His mix of height and shooting ability is off the charts, but that kid in Cleveland is not even in his prime yet.. Which is scary..
April 26th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
ali says:
no doubt caese. bronnie will rule the east, and durant will rule out west for years to come. i’m just stirring up some ish. but the kid is 21, bustin’ that arse w/ teenage acne, ya heard?
April 26th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Blk Caesar says:
That’s funny.. Yeah KD has to get his proactiv on a little bit.. I really hope OKC can get all those kids under contract once their rookie ones expire.. Its going to be tough to keep all those pieces together for the long haul.. How bout dem Spurs?? 3-1 on the Mavs.. I still think the Blazers should have made Roy rest man.. His future is more important than him playing now..
April 26th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
ali says:
dolla hill ya’ll, dolla hill ya’ll, dolla dolla dolla dolla george hill ya’ll!
when will people learn, don’t ever sleep on the spurs.
and i think we can officially say that joakim noah has taken that next step. and how’se about cj miles for utah last night? man, folks ain’t even thinkin’ ’bout ak-47 and okur right now, thanks to booze, d-will and the other guys who are taking full advantage of their burn in the limelight.
that’s what i love about the playoffs, the drama unfolds in unexpected ways, with dudes forging new reputations.
and if i’m carmelo right now, i’m extremely disappointed in my supporting cast. he’s horsing it, but can’t get a robin to his batman in this series.
and what’s that guy’s name in cleveland? he’s a pretty decent player.
April 26th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Blk Caesar says:
I felt bad for Melo last night..
April 28th, 2010 at 8:38 am
illest says:
i would take rose, ali.
okc showed their youth last night.
May 28th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
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