Los Angeles Clipper fans can breathe a sigh of relief for now. Mark Medina, who is an NBA writer for USA Today, just confirmed during a conference call with coach Doc Rivers that guard Lou Williams is expected to play this season. Whew.
In a conference call, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said "all indications" that Lou Williams will play. Rivers said, "I do expect Lou to be with us. I would be very surprised if he's not."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 1, 2020
It was just a couple weeks ago that Williams was hesitant about making a decision on playing this season. He had concerns over the game being a “distraction” from the nationwide movement for social justice and was concerned.
Williams had been a part of a virtual chat hosted by CoStar and said he was “50-50” on playing along with numerous players who felt the same.
Williams stated his concerns on why the game could be a distraction.
“The point that some of the guys are raising about not playing is, basically, we don’t want to be a distraction. For us, the only benefit of us not playing is to keep the focus on the fight. And with that being said, this [return] is in six weeks. … In six weeks, the world may need some healing. They may need us to be on the floor. But if more black kids or black adults or any adults that’s dealing with police brutality are getting killed, and we are still outraged, I don’t know if it is in our best interest to suit up.”
Many voiced the issue about the possibility of Williams not playing such as ex-NBA players and current ESPN analysts Kendrick Perkins and Jay Williams. They assume with Williams sitting out, the Clips can’t win a title.
With Williams back in the game, this adds waaaay more firepower to the Clippers and could see them rise high in the playoffs once they start.
In just 60 games so far this season, Williams is averaging 18.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 5.7 assists per game. Williams is shooting at 41.6 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from deep. Pretty good seeing the season was cut short. But can he live up to the hype and continue these numbers with a dramatic change of the game? We’ll see, we’ll see.
