Thoughts on Lou Williams and Spencer Hawes
By Dante Nelson
Spencer Hawes and Lou Williams are two players that make you wonder about how useful stats are. Stats would lead you to believe the both of these players are extremely valuable to the Sixers. And yeah, there’s some value. But way less value.
I was putting this post off for a long time. But now, I think I need to put it out there. It was a rant before but I’m hoping I cooled down.
Both Hawes and Lou are basically free agents. If the Sixers don’t make a move, they’ll be able to go somewhere else. Duh. In my world, both players need to go. Lou is the player that will kill your team. A team that thrives with ball movement is suddenly choked stiff when he gets the ball.
But he’s one of the highest scorers in the 4th quarter. He’s the Sixers’ go-to guy.
Oh really? Let it be known that the Sixers are one of the worst, no…they are the worst team in clutch situations. Obviously, coaching is a factor. But, Lou Iso’s are so bad (how bad are they!?). They are so bad, because Lou never goes for the win. It’s like he wants to take bad shots so that if they go in, he’s on Sports Center.
He’s got assists. He does pass the ball.
Please, do you watch the games? Most of his assists come from this: Lou brings up the ball. He dribbles around for 22 seconds and then passes the ball off to a teammate who miraculously hits a last second shot. That’s how Lou gets assists. When he gets the ball, his head is down. He’s not looking to pass. He’s not a PG. He can’t play PG. And so, I keep saying that Holiday needs to be backed up by a real PG. Someone who can mentor him. Imagine if Lou wanted to “mentor” Jrue. Oh God.
I can’t take that. Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, Jrue. They pass the ball. They make the defense work. Not Lou. The defense can trap him. And then, Lou is so bad at getting the ball free that he’ll either jack up a bad shot to draw the foul, or turn the ball over. How the Sixers were the best team at taking care of the ball is a mystery I’ll never solve.
And then, Lou isn’t even that great of a scorer. If he shot a decent %, then I could sort-a live with the “Live and die by the Lou”. But no, Lou is, at best, an average scorer. And we’re willing to shut down the offense for average? Not me.
The only positive thing about Lou Williams on this team is that he’s the only pure scorer we have, even if it is average. And that’s all I can say. His defense? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, I’m not going there.
And then there’s Spencer Hawes. Oh Spencer, he started off the season Hawesome and ended up being Haweful. But then, this is the real Spencer. Did you know he’s 7 feet tall? Did ya? Hm? I’m asking because…well…does he know it? Only reason why he pulls down rebounds is if he’s the only player within range of the rebound. Otherwise, Rajon Rondo will be able to come from behind and steal a rebound from a 7-footer. Oh how Haweful. He take jumpers. Okay fine. But wait, he fades away while taking the shot. You have a 6-8 forward on you and instead of trying to post up or just shoot over the player, you and your 7 foot frame decide to fade away. Oh gee. Yaaaaaay!
And then on defense. Bahahahaha! I mean he’s just so…HAHAHAHA! Forget the blocking. He can’t do it. It’s not fair.
I’ll give him credit though, he’s a guy that can play like a decent Center. When his starting job was taken, he fought to try and get it back. So is he lazy? Spoiled? I wouldn’t go that far. But, sometimes he needs motivation to be the best Center he can be. For the Sixers, it’s not much.
Both Lou and Hawes will be looking for money that the Sixers really can’t give. Not that don’t have the money. Lou comes off the bench. You can’t have two of your bench players making close to $8 million a year. Invest in starters. That’s why the Sixers’ bench was one of the best, the starters sucked.
I know a lot of people love Lou. I am ready for the lashings from TeamLou about this post. Not sure what fans think of Hawes. Both of the players better not be on the team next season. But, I do think one of them will be. I don’t know which one yet.