‘Inconsistent' Williams wants to be more aggressive

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hawks forward Marvin Williams‘ scoring average through 20 games is 10.6 points, but that doesn't give a clear picture of how his season has gone.

In his 20 starts , he has four games for instance where he scored four or fewer points and then one 29-point game. His rebound totals range from just one to a career-high 15 last Saturday against Dallas.

"There's been no balance," Williams said Tuesday. "I've either been way up here or way down here."

Williams scored 29 against Houston on 13-for-19 shooting. He was 1 for 7 against Dallas, the game he collected 15 boards.

"I've been so inconsistent. It's tough," he said. However, "the one thing about me is that I can affect the game [in ways] other than just scoring."

His struggles are not due to a lack of preparation. He is among the most dutiful players in post-practice shooting. Williams said he wants to play more aggressively, whether he scores or not.

Playing aggressively, he said, "You may score seven points. Another night, you may bring that same mentality and you may have [29] like I did the other night. You just never know. It's that mindset of being aggressive every night."

Hot and cold

Guard Mike Bibby is 2 for 11 from 3-point range in the last two games after making 12 of 16 in the three previous games. He was 0 for 5 against Dallas, just his fourth game without a three-pointer this season. (In one of those games, he played just five minutes before leaving with a sprained ankle.) While his 12-for-16 run came after the ankle injury, Bibby said that his recent inaccuracy from 3-point range is because, "When you shoot, you use your legs and I haven't been really using my legs because of my ankle. It's getting better. I just can't keep tweaking it."

On the opposite side, guard Joe Johnson has made 25 for 48 field goal tries in the past two games after shooting 34 for 95 in the six previous games.

"I don't think it ever went anywhere," Johnson said of his touch. "It's a long NBA season. You're not going to shoot great every night."

Gator reunion

Center Al Horford is looking forward to catching up with Bulls center and former Florida teammate Joakim Noah, whose scoring and rebounding averages (10.8 and 11.8, respectively) are the best in his young career. Recently, however, Noah got into a confrontation with Cleveland star LeBron James near the end of a blowout loss for the Bulls. James was dancing before taking foul shots and Noah, from the bench, let him know he didn't appreciate it.

"Jo's not going to back down from anyone," Horford said. "He's not going to be intimidated. It doesn't surprise me."