LOS ANGELES – Where would the LA Clippers be without Lou Williams. The scoring guard was acquired this past offseason in the blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets, and it's placed the 13-year NBA veteran in arguably the best possible situation of his career where he's able to go out and do what he does best: score the basketball.
Through his first 34 games of the season, Williams is averaging career-highs in points (21.4), assists (4.8), three-pointers made (2.7), field goal percentage (44.4 percent), three-point percentage (40.8 percent), and free throw percentage (89 percent) per game. The shocking part is that he's actually being incredibly efficient with the way he scores despite attempting a career-high 15.4 shots per game (previous high was 12.7).
So where would the Clippers be without him?
“Oh, we'd be in trouble,” said head coach Doc Rivers after Williams' 40-point performance against the Hornets. “He's so efficient and what people don't see is that he let the second unit have it at halftime. I kind of stood out and waited for him to be finished. He went a long time and he really rode them.”
Williams put up 40 points for the second time this season, this time doing so off the bench torching the Hornets from every possible spot on the floor. Six of his 12 made field goals were three-pointers, and he also made 11 trips to the free throw line as well, knocking down 10 of them.
“It's amazing,” added Rivers. “He's just fun to watch. Where I'm amazed is, obviously he can shoot, but watching him at his size finish in traffic is unbelievable. He attacks Dwight [Howard], he didn't really care who was down there. He's a professional scorer at the top of the line. He just knows how to play.”
Blake Griffin returned from a 14-game absence on Friday, averaging 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block per game. Williams, alongside guard Austin Rivers, had been doing their best to hold down the fort offensively until the forward made his return to the court.
While Williams has fit in well with the second unit, he's played just 21 games with new teammate Blake Griffin. Thus far, however, the chemistry between the duo appears to be seamless.
“He's been unbelievable for us,” said Griffin after his second game back from a sprained MCL. “I knew he could score and all that, but he's been better than advertised in my opinion. The thing that surprised me too, I had a lot of respect for him as a player, but I didn't know he was as good of a passer as he is. He scores the ball with ease, obviously tonight is another example, but it never seems like he forces stuff, he's always in control which is impressive.”
Austin Rivers, who sat out with a strained right Achilles, watched the Clippers get their third consecutive win back from the locker room, where the issue with his foot was being worked on by some members of the training staff. Before heading out of the arena for his New Years festivities, he spoke about his backcourt mate's incredible performance in his absence, and even gave him a new nickname that incited some laughter within the locker room.
“Man, Lou's just… Sweet Lou, man. Lou's like an Atlanta pimp that's just getting buckets. That's what he does man. He's an Atlanta pimp who knows how to get buckets. He's an amazing player. He just keeps finding the fountain of youth, keeps going, keeps getting better.”
With Rivers hoping to return on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, the scoring load could be put far less on him and shared with his backcourt mate.
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