In limited minutes off of the New Orleans Pelicans bench this season, Kenrich Williams has made his mark on both ends of the floor.
Some Pelicans have looked better than others to start the 2019-2020 NBA season, as the team is off to a 2-7 slow crawl out of the gate. However, Kenrich Williams is giving the team a two-way boost on both ends, playing basketball that warrants more minutes for the second-year man.
Playing really nice basketball for Alvin Gentry amidst the team’s mostly unimpressive start, Williams is showing signs of maturity for the young team.
Not needing the ball in his hands, Kenrich Williams is averaging the third-least points per contest on the team despite playing 18.6 minutes per contest. It’s in his nature to play an unselfish brand of basketball, even going back to his college days.
Undrafted out of TCU, “Kenny Hustle” has been making big plays for Alvin Gentry for the last two seasons, really beginning to prove his NBA credentials with the struggling Pelicans.
Appearing in all nine games for the team, he’s averaging 5.9 points, 4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1 steal, and 0.3 turnovers, even drawing his first start of the season against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, as the Pelicans picked up a 115-110 road win.
Not perfect numbers, but pretty solid for a guy whose hustle is his calling card.
Boosted by his 46.3% clip from the floor and 40% rate from deep to start the campaign, Williams has been, like good coffee, smooth and strong for Alvin Gentry’s second unit.
Your current Pelicans rankings in Offensive rating on/off court difference:
— Chris Conner (@Impatientbull) November 11, 2019
Kenrich Williams: +23.7
Nickeil Alexander Walker: +13.0
Frank Jackson: +11.9
Jaxson Hayes: +10.3
Numbers give me a damn headache.
If he’s able to start burying more three-pointers than his 1.1 makes per game, he’ll be able to really start catching playing time, as the team looks for consistency across its rotations.
Where Williams has been so good for this team is doing the little things to make his teammates better, which isn’t always the easiest ask in 21st-century basketball. The team is +9.5 with Williams on the floor this season, finding boosts from his 1.9 offense and 1.3 defensive box plus/minus.
Providing the energy for the team’s bench, the team has found a certain amount of energy on the second unit with some of their wings, including Josh Hart, J.J. Redick, and the already mentioned Kenrich Williams.
The New Orleans Pelicans have needed the energy Kenrich Williams has given on the defensive end this season, as their league-worst 122.4 points allowed per game would be worse without their stopper on the second unit.
Williams deserves to be on the floor, as he creates space and stays active around the floor on offense, helping teammates find their own seams in the defense, a true off-ball creator.
Granted, the New Orleans Pelicans are already turning up the volume on another young small forward, as Brandon Ingram begins to look like an All-Star lock. Ingram is closer to a traditional small forward than Williams, which means the younger player could try to earn minutes playing the power forward or even shooting guard position to boost the lengthy finisher.
Players like Williams, lacking a huge resume or flashy tape, isn’t going to get very much media love for this club, but he’s got the tools to help them win games.
When it comes down to it, Alvin Gentry and his coaching staff need more guys who win the right way, not by simply filling the stat sheet. Kenrich Williams is a really impressive player, but the Pelicans really have to learn how to use him in a bigger role.
Needing to pick up wins in a hurry to restore their increasingly bleak playoff dreams, Kenrich Williams can give the Pelicans a nice role man to push them closer to an even record while they await the return of Zion Williamson to the team.