(670 The Score) A day after second-year forward Patrick Williams attempted zero shots in 13 minutes and rode the pine in closing time of the Bulls' loss to the Knicks on Monday, coach Billy Donovan admitted he's unsure of what to expect out of Williams or even how to judge him as he has recently returned from a serious wrist injury.
"I just don't know after five months of being out where he's supposed to be right now as a player," Donovan said Tuesday before the Bulls visited the Wizards. "He's missed five months of basketball, and I think he's played in five games. He's going to have some ups and downs. He just is.
"He just does not have his rhythm and his timing and his flow right now as a player. I wish it came back sooner."
Williams, 20, is averaging 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.4 minutes in the five games since he returned from injury on March 29. He's shooting 40% from the floor – that is, when he's shooting. He didn't shoot once Monday, much to the chagrin of Donovan, who turned to the less heralded but more energetic Javonte Green off the bench and not Williams late when starter Alex Caruso fouled out.
The need for more aggressiveness from Williams – the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft – was a point of emphasis as Donovan detailed what he needs to do to receive more playing time.
"With him coming back, just trying to evaluate where he's playing, we need him to be aggressive," Donovan said. "Based on how the game is going, what the group looks like out there, how that particular group is playing, certainly I think for our team, he needs to be playing more. But we've got to get him with his minute to be able to be aggressive with them. It doesn't mean necessarily scoring, but just feeling him, whether it's going to the offensive glass, whether it's defensive rebounding, getting out in transition, those kinds of things. We need his athleticism and his energy. Not to say he hasn't done that all the time, but I think when we've gone through some periods of time where there's been some droughts, I've gone – either offensively or defensively – just with some different guys. So it's probably been more my decision as a coach of what I've felt was best in those moments."
Donovan explained that he isn't a coach who hands out minutes based on anyone's potential or draft pedigree. He wants every player to earn them. When it comes to young players like Williams, Donovan acknowledged it's a "very, very fine line" because they often need to play to learn and improve. At the same time, the Bulls (43-32) are fighting for playoff seeding and attempting to find continuity for the postseason.
"I've got to look at how he's doing out there," Donovan said of Williams. "He's five games back into this thing, if that. And I can't expect him to necessarily be where he was – even going back before he hurt his ankle in training camp, I thought he was in a really, really good place before he hurt his ankle. I don't know if he was ever quite 100% coming back from that ankle. And then obviously soon after, he hurt his wrist. And he's missed five months. A lot of it is I think Javonte has given us good minutes. Some other guys have given us minutes while he's been out. And we've got to try to work him back in there. But I think if it's not the best thing for our team at that particular time, I think at this time of year, with the amount of guys we have had out and trying to mix and match lineups, trying to find the best combination of guys is what I've done.
"I'm just not going to put him out there for 25 or 30 minutes just for the sake of doing that. Patrick is a great guy. I love working with him. I love being around him. But I do think there's been a part of him, he's trying to find his way back. It's just that simple. I think for the minutes that he does get, we need all-out Patrick. Just need all-out Patrick, whether it's 12 minutes or 25 minutes. And I think a lot of it has got to be what's he doing with the minutes he's also getting too out there, how productive and how much he's producing out there. And I do think there is with young players a very, very fine line between just giving a guy something without them earning it and also not giving them the opportunity to grow and develop either. You know what I mean? Where you just don't play a guy and he doesn't have the opportunity. Because I'm not one of these guys that thinks you just take a young player and just throw him out there and just keep giving, giving, giving. And that's not to sit there and say Patrick's minutes being down last game were anything that he did so poorly that I was disappointed or upset with. It was more my decision of what I thought was best for the team at that point in time."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
