When Derrick Williams plays like the #2 pick overall from the 2011 NBA Draft the sky’s the limit for Maccabi Tel Aviv. When he doesn’t, well, the Yellow & Blue are in trouble. In fact, that has been his M.O. for his entire career as he has bounced around to 11 different teams over the past decade never spending more than two full seasons with any one club. Interestingly enough that occurred only once, his first two years in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That kind of says it all for Williams’s career. He has been consistently inconsistent.

But against Nes Ziona when coach Avi Even needed him most in the decisive 4th quarter he was there going 3/4 from long distance and creating the separation that was needed for Maccabi to down their pesky opponents 93-89 for a much needed Israeli league win.

Williams entered the final frame having scored 6 points in 14 minutes in a ho-hum showing that didn’t make any waves but when the chips were down and Maccabi needed clutch baskets the California native was there with 9 huge points down the stretch.

After Lior Lubin’s squad closed the gap to 80-77 midway through the fourth quarter, Williams nailed back to back triples to bump the Maccabi lead up but that didn’t stop the visitors from drilling the lead down once again over the final couple of minutes.

With Golan Gutt and Lior Carreira cutting the advantage down to 90-87 with 1:03 left in the contest, Williams was able to make a step back and get a shot off from the corner as the shot clock expired to put the lead back up to 6-points and effectively seal the deal.

“First of all, he brings a lot of experience and he is very positive,” Oz Blazyer said about Williams. “He is a very important player for us when he plays with the right energy and he comes ready to go. When he hits his shots he makes the game a lot easier. We are getting to the stage of the season where we need everyone playing top basketball and giving 200%.”

Interesting to note that Blayzer used the words, “when he plays with the right energy”. But truth be told when he does play the right energy, there’s nary a better player on the attack than Williams. That is also true of James Nunnally who scored with ease as he chalked up 23 points on the game.

“I think James did begin the season well,” Coach Avi Even began. “I am happy that he is getting back into his groove after a period of time where he did not play well. He is super professional, committed and I believe that we have seen other games where he showed that as well on the court. He has to continue this way.”

There’s no question that the Yellow & Blue could turn on and off their scoring like a water tap, but there has been way too much inconsistency. Maccabi does have the potential to unleash a lethal offense, however, there have been many a game where that offense has been non-existent as well as the defensive effort, which we all well know wins games especially in the Euroleague and when it gets down to playoff time.

The Yellow & Blue also were out-rebounded yet again 37-35 with Nes Ziona grabbing 15 on the offensive glass while also going up 27 second chance points. That is just not good enough and Even knows it.

“We’re working on our defense,” the interim bench boss said. “We don’t have a lot of practices and at the end of the day that will be the difference. If we can make more stops on defense then we will also be more consistent. We were able to put them into a number of tough situations but it wasn’t enough.”
Williams played the entire fourth quarter where he spelled Ante Zizic at the center position as Even went with a smaller lineup instead of playing Jake Cohen who checked in with only 8:47 on the night. The Arizona product was asked with not only scoring but also defensive duties which he did admirably.

“Derrick has a lot of talent, he can score, dribble and can do so many things on the court,” Evan explained. “He can really shoot and we have to give him the confidence to take his opportunities from the outside because that is a very important part of the style of our game. I really like his energy and his commitment and I hope and believe that this will continue.”

In some ways, Williams is a perfect reflection of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s season as a while, one that has been just up and down and up and down. But that has been the story of his career, one that has been up and down.

In his first three seasons in Europe he played for three different teams all of which didn’t advance to the postseason. While his individual statistics may have been good there has always been something lacking and that is also reflected in his time in the NBA.

In seven seasons and with 6 teams, Williams went to the playoffs only once, in 2016/17 with the Cleveland Cavaliers a club that fell in the Finals 4-1 to the Golden State Warriors and featured none other than Lebron James.

At the age of 30, Williams is still as they say a work in progress which fits so perfectly with Maccabi Tel Aviv. A team that is also still trying to find their way.