Brooklyn Nets grades: Alan Williams still stuck in between

Williams with Brooklyn

As stated earlier, Williams got precious few opportunities to play with the Brooklyn Nets, making five appearances in all for a total of 26 minutes.

All of Williams’ playing time came late in lopsided games — one win by Brooklyn and four Nets’ losses.

In just 5.2 minutes per game, Williams averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds while hitting 8-of-13 shots overall and missing his only 3-pointer. He was just 2-for-4 at the foul line.

Breaking down his shots by distance, Williams took four in the restricted area, making three. He was 3-for-5 from three to 10 feet and 2-for-3 from 10 to 16 feet.

The 3-point attempt was just the second of his career and his first legitimate shot. Williams’ only other shot attempt from behind the arc was a late-clock heave in a March 23, 2017, game with the Phoenix Suns against the Nets at Barclays Center.

Best Game: Jan. 11 at Toronto

Williams made his first appearance as a Brooklyn Net on the same day he re-signed with the team on a two-way contract, Jan. 11 at Scotiabank Arena against the host Toronto Raptors.

In a game the Nets would lose convincingly, 122-105, Williams made the most of his nine minutes of run in the fourth quarter, scoring eight points with eight rebounds — two offensive — on 3-of-4 shooting. He also dished two assists and committed a turnover.

The clip above shows Williams’ first basket as a member of the Nets and it came in a pretty typical fashion for Big Sauce — getting to the right place at the right time to tip in a teammate’s miss.

Williams at Long Island

While he got limited run in Brooklyn, Alan Williams was a stalwart for the Long Island Nets in the G League and put together an outstanding season in Uniondale.

Williams played in 41 of the Nets’ 50 games, starting 40, and averaged 19.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.0 minutes per game, shooting 48 percent overall and making 26.2 percent of his 1.6 3-point attempts per game.

That last statistic is significant, because in his previous three professional seasons — at any level, be it in China, the G League or the NBA, Williams had one career 3-point attempt.

So Big Sauce is attempting to adapt to the modern NBA game, launching from deep 65 times at Long Island and making 17.

It’s a work in progress.

For the regular season, Williams finished as runner-up to Chris Boucher of Raptors 905 in the G League MVP voting. He was named to the All-G League first team and helped Long Island to its first postseason appearance in its third season in existence.

The Nets reached the G League Finals, winning the opener at Stony Brook before losing the final two games to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

In five playoff games, Williams averaged 18.0 points, 15.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 32.4 minutes per game, shooting 41.3 percent overall and going 1-for-8 from deep.

He led the G League in defensive rebounding percentage at 34.5 and was third in total rebounding percentage at 23.6.

His top game of the season for Long Island came in a win on the road over the Capital City Go-Go on Dec. 29, when he scored 37 points with 17 rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes of action. Williams was 16-for-23 from the floor and split two 3-point attempts.