Marvin Williams is the Charlotte Hornets X-Factor This Season

Marvin Williams is in his second year with the Charlotte Hornets and is arguably having one of the best seasons of his career 11 year NBA career. Even though there has only been eight games this year, Williams has rounded out his game and found a niche with this year’s team.

He is averaging 10.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game this season on 46% shooting from the field and a surpassing 41% from the three-point line.

Marvin Williams has been one of the most consistent players this year for the Hornets so far and that is staggering to say the least because before the season many fans were calling for him to be demoted to a bench role to make way for the younger, more athletic, Cody Zeller, but the Charlotte Hornets head coach, Steve Clifford, made an unpopular decision to start Marvin at the power forward position for the team.

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Williams has not disappointed with his play this season and made the most of his opportunity that coach Clifford has given him. Many were ready to move on from Williams because he has never put up great numbers in the NBA and has jumped around from team to team the past few years as he has played for three teams in the previous four seasons.

It is only a small sample size but it seems as if Marvin has refined his game during the off-season to fit the Hornets’ new style of play this year.

He has adapted well to their more uptempo style of play and has developed his outside shot to the best of his career. He is shooting 4.3 three pointers a game this season which is a full shot more than he has averaged in any other season for his career. He is also making them at a career mark with 1.8 a game.

He is shooting the three-point shot with no hesitation this season as he has done before in the past. He has worked hard on his outside shot and trusts it now more than ever.

Here are some staggering stats on Marvin Williams so far this season:

He leads the Hornets in +/- by more than four total points with 6.5 compared to the second best player on the team who is at 2.4.

He leads the team with three double-doubles this season.

He also leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game.

He is second on the team with 31.9 minutes per game.

He is third on the team in field goal percentage from the floor and from three with 46.3% and 41.2% respectively.

He is also third on the team in offensive and defensive ratings with 107.8 points and 99.1 points allowed respectively.

He has been Mr. Reliable for the Charlotte Hornets this season. He is averaging 31.9 minutes a game and almost averaging a double-double on the season. Though Williams only stands at 6’9″ and is a somewhat undersized four in this league, he has played bigger than his height and used his size and agility to his advantage against some bigger opponents. He weighs in at 237 and uses his strength to keep bigger guys off of the low post and to box out.

He is working harder than any other player on the floor and has been superb on both sides of the ball this season. Williams is averaging a career high 1.3 blocks per game this season which leads the team. He has also taken a bigger role on the defensive side of the ball this year with the injury to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Williams has played at the small forward position for the team at times this year, especially with the second unit sometimes, and he has taken the task of defending bigger players at the four and faster players at the small forward position. He has not failed the team so far this season.

Marvin was seen as a possible bust because of his play and where he was drafted back in 2005. He was selected second overall by the Atlanta Hawks and only has a career average of 10.4 points per game and 5.1 rebound per game. He has never been a reliable shooter from the outside and always seemed to have trouble to find his place with such high expectation placed on him.

Now that he’s back in North Carolina playing in the same state where he went to school under Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina, he has thrived this season. Marvin struggled with the team last year as he mainly came off of the bench but this season he is playing like he has never before played in his career. He is knocking down threes and grabbing rebounds at the highest rate of his career.

And as one Hornets’ fan said, “Marvin Williams….dude has been steady eddy.” – @lemonbar4949

Well said Lisa. Marvin Williams has been steady for the team this year. He is the glue that holds the Hornets’ starting line-up together. He plays his role and does it well. He hustles on both sides of the ball and has been one of, if not the, most consistent and reliable players this year so far for the Charlotte Hornets.

We can only hope that he can continue his stellar play and sustain the reliable play that he has built this season. There are a lot of players that will contribute big time for the Hornets this year but none quite like Marvin Williams. He’s not going to average big numbers for the team but they aren’t asking that from him. They are asking consistency, rebounding, defense, and knocking down open threes and that’s what he has done so far this year.

Next: The Charlotte Hornets Will Make the Playoffs

He isn’t going to take over games but he will help the team win games throughout the season. His consistent play will help this team reach their hopes of making the playoffs this year.

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