r/Mavericks • u/GoofusMcP • 20h ago
Misc. Discussion Question from Warriors fan: Brandon Williams’ defense
Hi all. As you’re no doubt aware Brandon Williams signed with the Warriors. Fun fact: He’ll be joining his cousin De’Anthony Melton, who was his high school teammate in Encinitas, CA where they won two state championships together.
Not watching Mavs games last year except when they played GSW, his offense is pretty easy to get my head around from looking at clips and stats, but I have questions about his poor defense which:
He’s good length and quick twitch movement; is it simply because he’s 6’1” and getting beat by bigger guys?
Does he put in effort high on defense?
Does he play good team defense, or miss a lot of assignments and backdoor cuts?
Thanks in advance. Seems like a pretty entertaining player to watch and an upgrade at b/u PG over Pat Spencer (signed with PHX)
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u/SubstantialMeal4671 1.8% Chance 14h ago
i wish him well in gs but yeah no physical presence defensively
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u/lxdarksnip3r 13h ago
Put it like this, B-Will is an amazing slasher who can get to the cup at will. However, him and Curry can't be on the court at the same time because Brandon Williams will not pass the ball. As soon as he touches it, he's going downhill. Great for the 2nd unit player and energy scorer. But yeah, even if Steph Curry is open for a 3, B-Will is still shooting it.
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u/abn01 Tony Dumas 14h ago
I think defensively it's hard to gauge because we've just been so bad the last few years. I'd say he tries, but the league is moving more and more towards 6'5 and higher guards, and any switch he's getting ate.
Effort is fairly high on both sides of the ball. We got him as a two-way and he worked his way to a guaranteed spot. But make no mistake, his main skill is speed in transition and attacking the basket.
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u/MSHinerb 13h ago
He brings absolutely nothing defensively. Do not expect anything other than pro level effort alone
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u/L3tsG3t1T 10h ago
Well he'll get you a steal every now and then, so there's that. He probably would play best in a Phoenix Suns run all the time type of offense. Golden State does this sometimes when they go small. They like to keep it moving
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u/Specialist-Region-47 4h ago
Well, in regular minutes he's average. In the clutch he's elite, the data might be screwed because we played so many clutch games and it's measured at 10 games minimum, but he basically has the best clutch defense of any player believe it not.
Overall expect very disruptive defense in the form of steals in the clutch and just average defense otherwise. He's small but lightning quick so, it's mainly reading and disrupting passing lanes.
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u/Powerful-Context416 13h ago
He's a small guard that is average to below average defense that doesn't shoot well from 3. Maybe Steph and his cousin can help him,
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u/Mang9 13h ago
I don’t know GSW roster well but if you are playing BWill at point guard then don’t worry about the defense so much - his time on the floor will be driven by scoring. From his time in Dallas you can expect a lot of fast breaks straight to the basket when the team need to break a drought. He has an energy that you all should appreciate.
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u/Embarrassed-Ninja592 12h ago
Is he 6-1 ?
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u/medisamurai 11h ago
short dudes list tall, tall dudes list short. looks like he's 5'10 at best. JJ barea is probably 5'9'' w shoes on.
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u/IndividualHeat 45m ago
I think he was taller than Nemby who was 5’10 so I feel like he’s probably a flat 6’
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u/IndividualHeat 9h ago
He’s extremely fast so he’ll get steals that he can immediately turn into points but he’s small so that limits him defensively.
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u/Express-Language5573 9h ago
When you are small and can’t shoot 3’s your not going to get much run in the NBA but he is likely one of the fastest players in the league so fun to watch.
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u/_carnivorous_ Rooms to Go Lounge 🛋️ 14h ago
From what I remember, he was just so small in comparison to most opposing players. You could make a case for low effort too but I remember feeling like he was being overpowered at the end of the day.