Gimme:
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To understand the impact Kenrich Williams has for his team, let’s simply take a look at how the Thunder have played when he is on the court. Oklahoma City has been outscored by 7.3 points per 100 possessions so far this season, which ranks as the
second-worst mark in the Western Conference.
However, when Williams appears, Oklahoma City has actually outscored opponents by 1.94 points per 100. Their defense allows 12.6 fewer points per 100 possessions when he is playing relative to when he is not, the team forces turnovers significantly more often when he’s not compared to when he isn’t, and opponents are also shooting marginally worse both at the rim and on 3-pointers when he is on the floor.
Williams has shown he can guard the ball handler or the big man when defending the pick and roll and he is an excellent hustle player, too, which can help a team significantly down the stretch.
Among those who have logged as many minutes as he has so far this season, only two players (Kyle Lowry and Garrison Mathews) have taken more charges
per 36 minutes. He is also the type of player who will never let a possession die, gladly doing whatever it takes to record more and more offensive rebounds to help give his team second-chance opportunities:
Meanwhile, for the second season in a row,
according to Cleaning The Glass, Williams’ assist percentage ranks in the 80th percentile or better among forwards. For the third season in a row, meanwhile, his assist-to-usage ratio (which measures how often a player gets an assist relative to how often he had the ball) ranks in the 90th percentile or better among players at his position.
This suggests Williams is the kind of low-usage player who can slot in well to a lineup without needing the ball while still having a positive impact on the game.
