Do you remember that feeling as a kid (or even an adult, which is totally acceptable) when you would go to one of your favorite musical artist’s concerts and you just had to get a t-shirt? On most of these t-shirts would be a cool logo design of the artist on the front, and on the back would be the entire concert tour date schedule with dates and cities.
Remember how awesome it was to wear one of those shirts to school or a party or something and how much pride you had wearing it?
Well that is how Grizzlies fans should start to feel about Vince Williams Jr. Because while he is not creating hit songs consistently, he is putting together a pretty good collection of defensive performances of some noteworthy NBA Names. So much so that it is exactly like he has gone on tour to deny success to any of these offensive stalwarts:
And while there may not be any t-shirts commemorating this stretch of success currently, there is a growing awareness of just how impactful a defender Vince Williams Jr. is. Nearly two weeks ago, current MVP candidate Luka Doncic himself labeled Williams as a “great defender” as Williams held him to 2-9 from the field. Williams Jr. proved to be very consistent and effective against Doncic
Last night, Williams Jr. faced another current MVP candidate in Tyrese Haliburton. And while Williams Jr. proved to be successful against the slow yet methodical precision of Luka Doncic, it would be interesting to see if he could do the same against the quick yet savant-like swiftness of Tyrese Halliburton. Well, if numbers are considered a good indicator, Halliburton going 7-19 from the field and 2-12 from three with 4 turnovers as the Pacers scored their lowest point total of the season has to be a good sign. However, the best way to determine the effectiveness of a player’s defensive effort is observing the process through film and the results through data. Let’s see how Williams Jr. once again stepped up in a big moment for the Grizzlies:
This was the first shot attempt of the game for Haliburton, as he was able to use an off-ball screen to get free from Williams Jr. for a catch and shoot three point opportunity. Part of the reason that Hailburton was able to be so wide open is that Williams lost sight of him for a split second and then did not notice the screen until it had done its job to separate him from Haliburton. The result was what appeared to be a wide open look for three.
However, that was not the case. Williams Jr. quickly closed out to contest the shot, but Haliburton let him fly bye and then missed a rather clean look at the three. On this play, it is fair to say Williams Jr. got beat multiple times. However, his quickness and wingspan did require Haliburton to regroup and get off a quicker shot the second time. So while Haliburton did get a clean look, he likely was not as in rhythm due to having just avoided Williams Jr. The other thing that this first matchup provided was a feel for Haliburton’s quickness and offensive instinct. This would be a reference Williams Jr. would use as he defended Haliburton the rest of the game.
On this possession, Williams Jr. is once again reminded of Haliburton’s quickness, as it looks at first like Haliburton was going to attempt to penetrate to the rim for a good look at a basket or an easy assist. However, in remembering that the best defense is one played by a team in cohesion, Xavier Tillman made an excellent rotation. He came up just enough into the lane to keep Haliburton on the perimeter while also getting back quick enough to avoid a potential alley-pop effort.
Williams Jr. body control and effective footwork prevented him from stumbling while trying to stay with Haliburton. As a result, Williams Jr. was able to gather himself enough to apply a very good contest of Haliburton’s shot that led to another miss. Without a doubt, and especially against truly elite offensive players, Williams Jr. is not going to win every possession on defense. But if he can recognize the efforts of his teammates and stay disciplined, it will consistently lead to getting good shot contests and causing potential turnovers for the opposition.
This possession is another example of Williams Jr. making the most of his trust in a teammate’s help defense. One of the biggest reasons for Haliburton’s meteoric rise on offense this season is through his improved ability to set up looks through ball-handling, his speed, or with the help of screens. On this opportunity, he did quite well using the positioning of Myles Turner’s screen to separate from Williams Jr. As a result, Haliburton thought he had some space to operate with.
However, Bismack Biyombo did a good job of sagging off Turner to close a driving lane to the rim that Haliburton could not use. As a result, Haliburton had to settle for a mid-range jumper. Once again, the wingspan of Williams Jr. allowed for him to contest the shot from Haliburton, who missed the shot. For a split second, it looked as if Turner’s screen had taken Williams Jr. out of the play entirely, but Williams Jr. made sure that was not the case. Williams Jr.’s ability too quickly recover and utilize his wingspan is a big reason he such a good defender, and also why he can effectively guard multiple types of players.
Straightforward, this was not a possession that ended well for Williams Jr. This was simply one of the best guards in the game this year showing why that truth exists. However, it is also important to point out that this occurred as Indiana was really playing the high level of offense it is used too, and what allowed them to tie the game after being down 22 points. The big key for Vince Williams Jr. following this moment is how would he respond to contain Haliburton to help Memphis retake control of the game.
This possession shows another skill of Williams Jr. that likely is a work in progress, but is still a pretty good level for a young defender. Haliburton uses a top of the key screen to successfully separate from Williams Jr. As he changes sides of the court, Haliburton is once again kept toward the perimeter by Tillman sagging into a potential driving line, which makes Haliburton have to settle for a mid-range jumper. However, Williams Jr. has recovered by this time, is able to still contest the shot, and a miss is the result.
The skill I am referring to in regard to Williams Jr. is his ability to fight through screens. It is still a work in progress as Williams Jr. becomes better at noticing and moving around screens in the future. However, his tenacity and effort to fight through the screen creates the opportunity to close out and contest shots unexpectedly. While Haliburton got a clean look he likely makes at a high rate, Williams Jr. being able to get a hand even close to the shot likely caused enough of a distraction to lower the chance it was successful.
The final possession between Haliburton and Williams Jr. was much like a few of the previous clips. Williams Jr. was slowed down by a screen up top, but Bane and Jackson Jr. did a great job of staying put and forcing Hailburton to take a long distance three. Though Williams Jr. recovered and tried to contest the three, it was a good look for Haliburton. However, he missed the shot and the Grizzlies never looked back in securing the victory.
So while Williams Jr. did have his struggles remaining in front of Haliburton at times, the clips above show yet another strength of Williams Jr. In each of these two plays, Hailburton separates from Williams Jr. and is guarded by another Grizzlies player. However, instead of Williams Jr. stopping his pursuit, he trails the play to the basket and his able to cause two turnovers that lead to click counters for Memphis.
This is a very big strength of Williams Jr. overall defensive makeup. He does not give up on plays. As a result, even when he gets beat or separated from his assignment, he trusts his teammates to pick him up but also stays active toward the ball or the rim. This allows for him to recover to contest shots, look to cause turnovers, or crash the boards. As a result, he still plays a big role in preventing good looks or extra possessions for the opposition.
So in the validation of Vince Williams Jr. as a true difference make on defense, it is important to spotlight struggles just as much as successes. With his size, Williams Jr. will likely struggle a bit more against speedier guards like Tyrese Haliburton instead of bigger guards and wings like Luka Doncic. Furthermore, Williams Jr. is also continuing to improve in his ability to recognize screens. He certainly can fight through them, but better recognition will minimize his defensive pursuit being stopped or him being knocked off balance. These are two areas any young defender struggles with, and will improve with time and experience.
But pointing out these areas of improvement is meant to be more encouraging that anything. For one, as good of a defender as Williams Jr. already his, he still has the ability to become even better. And secondly, even when he does struggle to get the initial stop, his defensive instinct and intelligence allows for him to remain active and follow the play to contest shots, create turnovers, or get rebounds. In the end, the Grizzlies team as whole still gets the stop due to Williams Jr. playing through the entire possession.
It truly is significant that the Grizzlies were able to limit the production of Tyrese Haliburton on Thursday night, once of the best offensive players in the league. And while the play of Vince Williams Jr. was a big reason for that, it was the effort from the entire team that truly got the desired results. And this is a reminder that there will be nights will Williams Jr. will need the help of his teammates more than others as he continues to evolve. But what makes Williams Jr. so effective is that not matter if its through an initial individual effort to get the stop or due to the help of his teammates, Williams Jr. is focused on making sure he plays through the entire possession until a stop is earned.
And though the efforts of Williams Jr. were not recognized by Haliburton like they were by Doncic from a few weeks ago, another source that knows a bit about defense had high praise for his teammate:
So while much of the talk moving forward will be about the offensive chemistry of Ja Morant, Bane, and Jackson Jr., the consistent defensive chemistry between Williams Jr. and his teammates will help the Grizzlies defense be among the best in all of basketball.