New Orleans Pelicans: Kenrich Williams’ Energy is “Infectious”

The New Orleans Pelicans are happy to have Kenrich Williams back.

If you looked at the box score for the New Orleans Pelicans‘ first scrimmage, Kenrich Williams would not jump off the page.

He played 15 minutes, took just one shot and finished the game with zero points.

But if you actually watched the game, Williams showed how he can be a valuable member of the New Orleans Pelicans’ bench.

Williams made his presence felt immediately, taking a charge in the lane for a Nets’ turnover, grabbing a couple of rebounds in traffic, crashing the glass on every play and running the floor hard.

“Kenny Hustle” has missed most of the season and it showed, as the Pelicans have lacked a player who does the dirty work, the guy who dives for loose balls, takes on any defensive assignment and does the things that contribute to wins but don’t show up in the stat sheets.

Kenrich Williams’ energy is contagious for the New Orleans Pelicans.

When Williams comes into the game, the intensity is ratcheted up, which affects the entire team. His hustle also creates extra possessions, something Alvin Gentry noted after the game:

"“Well, it’s good to have him (Kenrich Williams) back. It’s really important. He just gives us extra possessions. He’ll come up with a couple of really good defensive plays that you saw on the charging foul he got late in the game, but it’s good to have him back on the team. Just his energy is infectious. I don’t know if ‘infectious’ was a good word to use in these situations, but he is. It’s good to have him back. It really is.”"

Not only does Williams bring energy and hustle, but he has the size to defend bigger wings, something that the Pelicans have struggled with all season in his absence.

Williams could be called upon to be a defensive stopper in certain matchups and his energy in the second unit will be a weapon for Gentry to deploy.

The New Orleans Pelicans are talented and deep, but need the intensity and energy Williams brings off the bench.