(January 6th) In the last profile, we talked about how odd it was that Money Williams had been such an effective shot blocker for a guard but wasn’t also recording steals. It’s very rare for havoc creator guards to get only blocks. Well, since then, while Williams’ block rate has remained high, his steal rate has more or less caught up, going from the 32nd percentile to the 78th. Basically, this allows Money Williams to claim that he is reliably taking smart risks on the defensive end in multiple senses, and it’s paying off. When combined with the film, it’s clear that he’s not blindly gambling, but instead knows instinctively when the calculus of the chance at making a play outweighs the risk of potential failure.
The other thing worth noting in this profile is the increase in assist rate. Williams has gone from the 68th percentile in assists to the 74th, indicating increased success in playmaking for others that will be valuable to his next team once he is ready to go pro.
(December 12th) Money Williams has one of the more confusing defensive profiles we’ve seen. The typical profile for the top end shot-blocking guards is the hyper-athletic chaos driver who gambles at everything and also posts a lot of steals in the process. Williams is not chaotic, and the athleticism is not his primary well. He’s not recording the steals we typically see in conjunction with the high block numbers, and yet his block rate is still in the 95th percentile, a very good number.
What is not confusing about Money Williams is his skill as a scorer. He is, at minimum, comfortable with high volume from everywhere, ranking in the 80th percentile or higher in two pointers attempted, three pointers attempted, and free throws attempted, resulting in an overall offensive load in the 96th percentile. A ton is asked of Money Williams as a scorer, but he mostly fulfills it – the 71st percentile in true shooting is more than good enough efficiency. Williams has had some struggles with consistency – he has four separate nights on the very short year so far where he has made less than one-fourth of his shots – but that’s to be expected when so much relies upon a single player offensively.