Grant Williams notched just over seven minutes of action on Tuesday in an ugly 120-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, who played without not just Ja Morant but also Jaren Jackson Jr. That's the least playing time Williams has garnered during his debut season with the Dallas Mavericks, one that's quickly becoming disappointing after a strong start.
More troubling? All of Williams' minutes came before intermission, Jason Kidd ignoring his normal rotation pattern in the third quarter before keeping Williams on the bench when Dallas' coach waved an early white flag. It's tough to blame Kidd for ignoring Williams with the Mavs in need of a jolt after halftime.
Dallas' marquee free agency acquisition missed both of his shots and turned the ball over once was whistled for a single personal foul against the woefully shorthanded Grizzlies, otherwise failing to make his mark on the stat sheet. The Mavericks were outscored by 20 points during Williams' brief stint between the first and second quarters. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the only other one on the roster to finish with a worse plus-minus, and he played 30 minutes.
After the game, rumblings emerged about Williams' lack of conditioning contributing to his recent downturn in role and performance with Dallas.
“On the subject of Grant Williams, one Mavs source I talked to recently about him said the concern is that Williams has never been asked to play this many minutes and be in shape to do so that has caused some regression from his early start…,” Mavs radio host Kevin Gray Jr. of 97.1 The Freak posted on Twitter.
Grant Williams' fading impact with Mavs
Williams more than lived up to the four-year, $53 million contract he inked with the Mavs amid a summer sign-and-trade from the Boston Celtics in the season's early going. He averaged 15.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 31.9 minutes on high-volume 54.3% long-range shooting over Dallas' first seven games, proving just as snug a two-way fit with his new team as optimists anticipated.
Williams was always bound to cool off from deep as the 82-game grind continued, but his all-around effectiveness quickly began waning, too. He came off the bench for the first time when available in the Mavs' Christmas victory over the Phoenix Suns, playing more minutes in each of the next three games while starting one with Luka Doncic sidelined.
Kidd afforded Williams 20 minutes or less in his last four appearances before Tuesday night, though. Nothing Williams did in Dallas' impressive win over the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday suggested he'd soon be relegated to DNP-CD status for an entire half. Williams did miss the second leg of the Mavs' preceding two-game set with the Portland Trail Blazers due to an ankle sprain, also showing up on the injury report for the Memphis game as ‘probable.'
Maybe Williams' tender right ankle is the sole explanation for his barely-there role against the Grizzlies. Dallas never cut the lead to single-digits after intermission and trailed by 20 points going into the fourth quarter. But Williams' season-low in minutes aligns with the downward recent trajectory of his season, and he hardly did much to prove he deserved more during his listless run in the first half.
Remember Joe Mazzulla's puzzling aversion to playing Williams in last year's playoffs before the Celtics lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals? Perhaps that decision warrants less scrutiny now that another coach seems to be souring on Williams, too.
Regardless, keep an eye on Williams as 2023-24 wears on. As much as the Mavs have welcomed contributions from the likes of Dante Exum, Derrick Jones Jr. and even stalwart veteran Dwight Powell, they can't reach their ceiling this season—and maybe not going forward, barring roster changes—without Williams at least scraping his.
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