Williams arrived late, but still gave Bulls a big lift
Thursday was a night of self-reflection for Bulls forward Patrick Williams.
Following his best performance of the season in an overtime victory over the Clippers, Williams volunteered the fact that he was late to the morning shootaround.
"I'm not sure if you guys know - (we didn't) - I was late to shootaround this morning," Williams said in his postgame interview session. "I just felt like I let the guys down. I had missed some of the film session. I just wanted to come out and give it my all, let the guys know I was still locked in.
"This late in the season, we can't afford to have guys late to shootaround, things like that. So I definitely apologized to those guys and just said I was going to give it all I got tonight and I was able to make a couple shots."
Well, did he have a good excuse, at least?
"I didn't," he said. "That made it even worse. I just had to own it."
Asked what caused him to be late, Williams answered, "Nothing really, just being 20."
Honesty is generally the best policy, but when teammate DeMar DeRozan followed Williams into the interview room, he couldn't believe the second-year forward would say such a thing.
"He said that? I've got to tell him not to say that to the media. He's tripping," DeRozan said with a laugh. "He's got to learn. (Gosh darn), why he say that?
"Yeah, he was late. You get on him, then at the same time you turn it into a joke. You definitely get on him. He made sure he was an hour earlier to his time (before the game)."
This was Williams' seventh game since returning from left wrist surgery. He finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a career-high 37 minutes. It was the first time all season he reached double figures in scoring or rebounds.
After a scoreless first half, Williams came back to hit a couple 3-pointers and had an aggressive dunk where he was blocked at the rim by Clippers backup center Isaiah Hartenstein, but managed to push the ball past the defender's hand and into the hoop.
His corner 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in overtime might have been the Bulls' biggest basket of the game, since it happened right after Luke Kennard hit a 3 to bring the Clippers within a point. Williams also let it fly with no hesitation, which is a nice step in his development.
It also led to an entertaining exchange between Williams and DeRozan in the interview room. DeRozan walked through the door as Williams was talking and yelled, "Way to hit that 3!"
"Way to get 50 (points), Williams answered quietly.
"We won because of that 3," DeRozan said.
"Subtract 3 points and subtract 50 points," Williams countered.
Every Bulls fan, coach and teammate is anxious for Williams to make his presence felt on this team. His value was also shown in the way he was able to slow down Clippers forward Marcus Morris in crunchtime. An athletic power forward with height certainly ranks high on the Bulls' list of needs.
But even though he was the No. 4 pick of the 2020 draft, Williams is just 20 years old, spent one year in college, missed most of training camp with a sprained ankle, then just came back from five months off with the wrist injury.
During Thursday's game, Williams was constantly stepping over to the sideline and listening to feedback from coach Billy Donovan and teammates. It's enough to make any player's head spin.
"It's usually stuff I mess up on, like the possession before, where they're just telling me about it because we may run the same play again," he said. "But I'm all ears to anyone who's been in the league, anybody who has insight on what I can be doing better.
"I don't think it makes me lose focus, if anything it helps me be more focused and purposeful in the things that I do on the court."
It's going to take some time for Williams to find his way, but it does seem like his mind is in the right place.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports