Marvin Williams On The Hawks Chances & Expectations
April 21, 2009 – 8:45 am by Tas Melas
I’ve definitely never heard Marvin Williams speak. I always knew him solely as that guy who was drafted before Chris Paul and Deron Williams. This year the man has opened some eyes with his improved 3-point shooting. He’s a well spoken guy that has had a lot of expectations thrust upon him because of the accomplishments of those talented players from the ’05 draft. He is obviously not at the level of CP3 or Deron but it’s nice to see him improve his jumper. He’s always had the athleticism but he’s slowly growing in to more of a basketball player. I’m not quite sure why people haven’t started calling him Marvin Gardens yet but I’ll start the trend.
His Hawks are up 1-0 on the Heat after a dominating performance in game 1. I have no idea why many people are picking Miami in this series – okay, I do, Dwyane Wade, but it’s a terrible pick. If you are just a casual basketball fan, tune in Wednesday when the Hawks host game 2. Philips Arena is a special place and you will realize it after only a couple minutes. They beat the NBA Champion Celtics there three times in last year’s first round for a reason. Marvin Williams joined 680 The Fan to discuss if the Hawks have met expectations this season, what elevates his team’s play, and whether or not they’re better than a 4th-seeded squad.
His assessment of teammate Josh Smith’s comments that the season would be a failure if they couldn’t escape the first round:
“I don’t know if I completely agree with that. There were guys out there starting this season that didn’t predict us to make it back to the playoffs. We defied them and we ended up sealing up the four-spot, so, obviously, that’s a successful season in itself. We don’t wanna be satisfied with having home court advantage in the first round… We just gotta play as hard as we can and advance as far as we can, but I can’t completely say the season would be a failure if we weren’t to advance.”
Williams on how the Hawks win games, if they’re a member of the Eastern conference elite, and the full interview after the jump.
On how the Hawks win basketball games:
“Obviously, people were excited about our offense (in game 1) but it really was our defense. When we defend, I feel we’re really tough to beat ’cause we start getting in passing lanes, that’s when you see transition dunks and wide open three-pointers. We really gotta defend, when we defend I think we’re at our best.”
On whether or not they’re member of the Eastern Conference elite:
“I definitely agree with that. You know, this season, we had a lot of injuries. Just to see if guys would have been healthy for a full 80 games, 82 games, it would have been interesting to see what slot we would have really sewn up. The three teams above us have obviously had great seasons, all their guys have been healthy this year and they’ve really been successful. We’re competing in the East for one of the top spots and that’s a good thing.”
Listen to Marvin Williams on 680 The Fan
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Basketball, Marvin Williams, Miami Heat, NBA, North Carolina Tar Heels
