Deron Williams

Strengths: A well-built 6-3, Williams is one of the most physically dominant players in the league, regardless of position…Uses his strength to his advantage often able to simply over power opponents…Terrific at going to the basket and finishing, he absorbs contact like a sponge…Has become known for his ankle-breaking crossover, which, due to his strength and fluidity, is all but unguardable…Possesses one of the league's best mid-range jumpers…An elite ball-handler who doesn't dominate the ball…Never gets flustered, constantly re-adapting to the tempo of the game…Always finds the open man, great at putting less-skilled players in a position to score in order to soften up the defense…Runs Utah's flex offense to perfection…Incredibly perceptive, routinely makes jaw-dropping passes…Once considered more of a game manager, he's now equally deadly on the break…Realized in his second year in the league how he's capable of changing games as a shooter…Among the league’s best at breaking down a defense…A much better athlete than he's often given credit for; he's incredibly explosive, especially around the basket… runs the pick-and-roll should make Stockton very proud…Above-average defender due to his size…Extremely efficient in just about every respect…Capable of scoring 25 points per game at any given game…Forces defenders to give him a great deal of space due to his ability to drive powerfully to the basket or shoot with even the slightest bit of daylight…Williams was 25 year old for the entirety of his fifth pro season. He has played in 24 more playoff games, and has 1,794 more assists, than John Stockton did at the same age…Has been one of the most dominant performers in the last few NBA playoffs.

Weaknesses: Not great at shooting on the move; loves to spot up…A poor rebounder for his size (3.1 per game), especially considering how similar he is to Jason Kidd from a physical standpoint. Seeing how comparatively diminutive point guards like Paul and Rondo are capable of grabbing five boards a game, he needs to become more active on the glass…Occasionally depends too much on his size and strength on defense…Form on his release isn't perfect, though his follow-through is flawless and he's deadly accurate for the most part…Needs to embrace a larger role in crunch time. He's not shy about taking the last shot, but he needs to realize that in the last three minutes of a game, the purpose of every possession should be getting him a good look. Needs to become more selfish in that respect…While he's great at absorbing contact, he sometimes lays on the ground too long after a hard collision, which Sloan probably hates.

Sam Littman 7/7/10