The New York Knicks have surprised some people this year so far with their 8-8 start although they have lost their last two games. Despite the early success head coach Derek Fisher still has not exactly figured out his rotation which has meant fluctuating minutes for a lot of players. Derrick Williams is one of the players on the Knicks whose minutes have been erratic and he seems a little frustrated by it, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Through the first seven games of the season Williams was averaging 16 minutes per game and was playing well but since then his minutes have been reduced down to 12 per game. In the Knicks last game, a loss to the Orlando Magic, Williams received his first DNP- coaches decision and he's not really sure why.
"I want to get out there and play. That's the reason I'm here, I don't really know what happened Wednesday though. Like I said, you can't really control that. That's up to the coaching staff. At the same time it does get frustrating when I know I can help. We have more games, man," said Williams.
Williams signed a two year deal worth a little less than $9 million to provide scoring off the bench for the Knicks and when he has gotten the chance he has played well. The former number two overall pick hasn't shot the ball well to start the season but his overall floor game has been good as he has the third highest PER on the team (18.6) behind only Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.
The fact that he hasn't been shooting well is likely Fisher's reason here but neither has the rest of the Knicks bench. In general the Knicks bench struggles for offense and although Williams hasn't consistently produced yet he is very capable. In the Knicks last two losses their bench has been outscored 73-22 while shooting just 15 percent from the field and Lance Thomas, who has been getting minutes over Williams, has shot the ball better but has a PER that is less than half of Williams.
Bench scoring is something that the Knicks certainly need to address moving forward as their second unit has looked inept at times and Williams showed in the preseason and the season opening game that he has the ability to erupt off the bench. Williams has every right to be frustrated considering the Knicks aren't playing all that well and he hasn't had the chance to help but Fisher is going to have to give him some time so that the Knicks bench doesn't continue to get outscored by so much.
