Summer League Recap: Does Charlotte Have Their Center of the Future?
As we hit the quiet part of the NBA season, fans have a few weeks before training camp begins in September. To help fill the void basketball will leave us with until then, I figured I would begin a weekly series diving into the developmental prospects on the Charlotte Hornets and what signs of improvement they have shown thus far. We'll take a look at what they showed during Summer League and how that may translate to playing time with the team in Charlotte or Greensboro. Be on the lookout for a new edition of the series each Monday as we try to desperately fill our lives with basketball content for the next two months. First up is rookie center Mark Williams.
In the much anticipated 2022 NBA Draft for the Charlotte Hornets, they used the 15th overall pick to select Duke's Mark Williams in hopes that he would finally be the answer at center for the team. Mark projects as a fantastic rim protector and lob threat at the NBA level. He will be just 20 years old at the start of the 2022-2023 season, and he enters the league with two years of collegiate experience. His freshman season in Durham did not come with as much playing time as you would expect, but he really started to turn it on as the season wound down. That season, he had a fantastic game against the Louisville Cardinals in the ACC Tournament as he started to flash his abilities on the defensive end and his touch around the rim on offense.
Williams used that momentum to propel him forward into his sophomore season at Duke and really enter his name into first round pick consideration. Standing at 7-foot-2 in shoes with a 7-7 wingspan and 9-9 standing reach, he has the size and frame to be a factor around the rim at both ends of the court. Mark averaged 2.8 blocks per game with an 11.4 block percentage in his second college season. On offense, he connected on 72.3% of his two-point shots and really excelled as a lob finisher and in transition. The Hornets expected Mark to be able to have an impact on defense and finish around the rim, but were hoping for improvements in his shooting and passing ability as well as his perimeter defense when switched out onto guards and wings with more quickness.
Let's take a look at what Williams showed during his Summer League performance.
Coming into the summer, Mark Williams was being talked about as a NBA ready rim protector. He showed everything that would lead us to believe exactly that as his impact around the rim on defense was phenomenal. In 19.6 minutes per game in the five games in Las Vegas, Mark averaged 1.4 blocks per game. While not eye-popping stats, there were so many instances where an opposing player was driving the lane and changed his mind because of Mark. There were a few plays where a ball-handler was even called for a travel as Mark's presence forced him to shuffle his feet. If he wasn't forcing travels, he was deflecting passes with his long arms leading directly to transition opportunities for the Hornets. If he can keep that up with the NBA team in Charlotte, it will play right into the fast, up-paced style LaMelo Ball and company want to play.
He also did a tremendous job moving his feet on drives forcing guys to pick up their dribble in awkward spots and slow down the opposing offense. Williams flashed excellent timing and rotation as well highlighted by a play we saw in the fifth Summer League game. Josh Minott had a clear path to the basket for the Wolves off of a spin move, but Williams was able to rotate over from the opposite block and get the block at the rim. Likely the highlight play of the entire week for Mark displayed excellent timing and defensive awareness to rotate over for the help-side block. One thing he must work on though is his tendency to try to block every shot at the rim. Sometimes he leaves his teammates in bad positions on the glass because he gets overly excited to chase blocks. Better to try to dial back his effort than push it forward, but still something that must be ironed out to avoid easy put backs for the opposing team.
Charlotte saw everything they needed to see in terms of rim protection from their first round rookie. Even if he wasn't actually making the block, he was constantly impacting shots around the rim and causing opposing offenses to think twice about driving the lane with him in the game. It was a great showing in that department and hopes have to be extremely high in the Hornets' organization that he will be able to continue this next season and beyond.
Sticking on the defensive side of the floor, we saw Williams move his feet probably better than expected when switched onto smaller, quicker players. A concern coming out of Duke was always going to be his ability to move out in space when switched onto guards and wings. We already knew the ability to play drop coverage was probably going to be something he could handle but guarding in space was not a sure bet. Playing drop coverage is an extremely effective defensive strategy but to avoid predictably, teams must have players who are versatile and can play a wide range of defensive schemes.
Although the sample size was very small, the Hornets have to be encouraged about what Williams showed in terms of switching and defending on the perimeter. There was a play in the second quarter of the game against the Chicago Bulls in Summer League that highlighted both of these target areas on defense. After a solid screen by a Chicago big, the ball-handler had a clear path to the basket that was quickly erased by Williams rotating over and making the offensive player hesitate. He took a few steps back towards the arc and tried a series of crossover and hesitation dribbles to get by Mark. Williams moved his feet perfectly to stick with the defender and didn't give up an angle to the basket. The possession ended with an excellent contest at the rim forcing a missed layup and transition opportunity for Charlotte.
This highlights just one of the promising plays Williams made while defending in space. He definitely had some moments where he did not move his feet well but if he is given time to work on his foot speed and get more reps, he appears to have the ability to be effective in that regard. Guards will get quicker and spacing will get better as we move into the NBA season making it undeniably more difficult for Mark to defend, but he showed very positive signs in adapting to the professional game. Williams flashed all of the defensive potential Charlotte was hoping for when selecting him in the first round back in June.
Shifting over to the other end of the court, we got a bit of a mixed bag of results. First thing I want to say is that playing with LaMelo Ball during the NBA season will undoubtedly help Williams on offense. You will likely see his efficiency and field goal percentage skyrocket as a result of Ball's brilliant passing and the defensive attention given to him. However in Summer League, we saw Mark shoot just 44% from the field a significant drop from his second collegiate season at Duke where he was north of 70%. He seemed to miss a few shots at the basket that you would normally see him finish. As you see him get stronger and have more time attempting to finish around NBA quality bigs, you will likely see Williams get much better in this area so no reason for concern.
As stated earlier, playing with LaMelo will make things so much easier on offense. Mark will get so many more uncontested finishes and easy dunks. He flashed his athleticism on some impressive lob finishes, so he appears prime to take advantage of Ball's passing and ball-handling. Williams set strong screens over and over again throughout Summer League and displayed the movement skills to dive to the rim off of that. Playing with an elite lead guard to take advantage of this will do wonders for his offensive game.
An additional area in which Mark was drafted to aid the team was rebounding. He averaged 7.4 boards in just under 20 minutes per game in Las Vegas. Coming back to a common theme, strength and more reps grabbing rebounds in traffic around NBA athletes will likely see Williams' rebounding percentages trend upward. He showed the intangible skill of giving tremendous effort especially on the offensive glass to keep possessions alive and give Charlotte second chance opportunities. He grabbed a total of 10 offensive rebounds during the five games, and the energy and effort was definitely there. His wingspan and athletic ability coupled with that energy should translate extremely well and help Charlotte find more open looks from three off of those second chance opportunities. With the amount of capable shooters the Hornets have, it could prove to be an extremely valuable development in his game.
While at Duke, Williams displayed some strong passing skills out of the paint and free throw line area. He was capable of cross court passes out to open shooters and big to big passing for easy baskets at the rim. He again flashed that ability in Summer League, providing an encouraging sign for the Hornets. The ability to find open shooters and get the ball to them efficiently will pair nicely with his offensive rebounding we just talked about.
In the final game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Williams had an excellent pass out of the short roll. This is one of the hardest passing skills for big guys to develop so although it was just one occurrence, it was definitely something to build on. He showed strong hands and the skill to catch the ball clean, as well as exquisite footwork to avoid traveling and quick decision making to get an open shot for a teammate.
Finally, we are going to talk about his shooting ability. If he can develop this into a tangible skill that defenses would need to respect, you could see Charlotte's offense take off. Whether it be an effective mid-range shot to play off of the pick and pop action or a three-point shot, this could be a huge bonus for the Hornets' offense. Hornets' GM Mitch Kupchak mentioned after selecting Williams in the draft that the team believes Mark can shoot the ball effectively and at a higher volume than he showed in college. His college free throw percentage certainly is some evidence supporting that statement.
Unfortunately, we did not see much to base our judgement on as he only attempted six free throws while knocking down four of them in Summer League. You would have loved to see him experiment more with his shot during these games with relatively low stakes but perhaps his confidence needs to grow in that area. Working with coaches at the professional level for a full season might be just what he needs to put up a few more jumpers. He only attempted one three pointer during the week of games and he looked slightly hesitant while taking it. On the positive side, his shooting form looks really good. There aren't any strange or inefficient motions that would lead you to believe the shot is broken. He did connect on a mid-range jumper that looked pure and he was confident in taking it. I'm looking forward to seeing Williams attempt more jump shots because I really do believe he can develop it into a useful asset.
Overall, fans should be extremely excited from what they saw from Mark Williams in Las Vegas. While he didn't rack up any overly impressive statistics, he showed the potential of being everything Charlotte needs him to be. He showed he can be an excellent rim protector with the defensive versatility to defend in space as well. He showed promising signs of being a lob finisher and if you throw in his rebounding and passing, there is so much to be hopeful about. The shooting is still a work in progress, but I really think it's there. Adding all of this up, it looks like Charlotte has found their center of the future. Here's to hoping he performs so well during the upcoming season that the team doesn't need to have him play in next year's Summer League.
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