Atlanta Hawks: Lou Williams showed us all he had in his first ever playoff start
The Atlanta Hawks were on the back foot when it was announced that Trae Young would miss the fourth game of their series due to the bone bruise in his foot. Lou Williams started in his place and the rest was history. The veteran was simply sensational in his time on the court.
He had a game-high 25 points to go along with eight assists, five rebounds, and a steal. He did all of this in a team-high 35 minutes. However, it was his efficiency that was eye-opening in this game. It was like he walked on to the court believing it was the fourth quarter and we all know his reputation in that period.
Williams went 7-of-9 from the floor, which is an insane 77.8 percent. He also was 2-of-3 from deep which is 66.6 percent from beyond the arc. He made five of his six attempts from the line which is 83.3 percent. His shooting and playmaking opened up the floor for the rest of the team as well.
The Atlanta Hawks needed this game from their veteran Lou Williams
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Williams has spent 14 years in this league. He has played 87 playoff games. His first career playoff start was in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2020-21 season, with his team down 1-2 in the series.
If ever there was a situation where Williams could come into a starting lineup and play the way that we all know that he can, this was it. The veteran knew when to shoot, when to pass and when to try and draw the foul.
While he did not have a “Remember the Titans” moment when he was told that he was starting, Williams almost retired when he was told he was being traded. Now he is deeper into the playoffs than he has ever been and potentially two games away from an improbable NBA finals appearance. That is the storyline that could be made into a movie.
Kevin Huerter has been huge for this team. dark. Next
At the time of writing, there was still no update on the potential of Young playing in the fifth game. If not, expect Williams to start again. Hopefully, he can pull another performance like this one out of his bag of tricks. He is certainly making the midseason trade look like a winner