The evolution of Bulls forward Patrick Williams is slow, but happening

Patrick Williams isn’t going to develop at the rate that anyone first expected him to.

For that, however, the former No. 4 overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft won’t apologize.

Because in his mind, for the first time in a long time – undoubtedly his first time as a Bull – the 6-foot-7 power forward feels like he’s starting to get it. More importantly, his teammates are starting to get him.

“I’m just maturing in this league,” Williams said. “That [wrist] surgery last year cost me, what? Sixty-some [65] games? But where it cost me was the experience, playing. So I’m trying to learn on the fly and get better. And to be honest with you, I’m enjoying this maturation process. Maybe not everyone else is enjoying how quickly it’s happening, but my mindset has changed a lot lately and I feel like so has the mindset of my teammates.”

That’s the trust that Williams has been building. The trust that he will not only be a shot maker, but a taker.

Finally.

If there was one major knock on Williams it was too many “Passive Pat” moments.

Coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls veterans have all harped on Williams since last season about trusting his scoring ability and being more aggressive, but since early December there has been a conscious effort to run sets and actions to get Williams the ball – either for a corner three-pointer or getting him going downhill – off of the tip.

To Williams’ credit, he’s finally taking advantage of that.

While his scoring average since Dec. 1 was still a pedestrian 10.5 points per game, almost half his damage comes in that first quarter. Williams was averaging 4.5 points in that opening stanza, and doing so with a high efficiency of 60.8% from the field and 64.7% from three-point range.

That included a season-best 12-point showing in the opening quarter against the Nets on Wednesday. A game in which Williams finished with a season-high 22 points, playing his most complete game of the 2022-23 campaign.

“Whether it’s been me just more aggressive, or Coach actually drawing up a couple of plays for me, or my teammates finding me in the actions we have, so it’s kind of been a combination of all those,” Williams said of his first-quarter mindset. “Now it’s about building off of that.”

Which is the next evolution of Williams’ game.

There’s a long list of skills Williams needs to improve on, and throw rebounding – especially for his size – right at the top. But a lot of that will be solved when he starts understanding how to read the game. That’s what Donovan has been stressing to him.

In the last few weeks alone, there were specific plays that Donovan pointed out as Williams still not understanding how to read the game.

The missed box out on Donovan Mitchell – lane violation or not – was one of them, as well as a Kevin Love closeout, and a missed opportunity to take advantage of Milwaukee big man Brook Lopez in a two-on-one break.

“If you look at guys like DeMar for instance, like a lot of times he’s surveying the game in terms of how he’s being guarded,” Donovan said. “When you put [Williams] in stuff and tell him, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ He’s really good. But the flow of the game is what he’s got to figure out, ‘OK, this is who is guarding me, this is the coverage they’re in, this will be open, this is how I’ve got to screen, this is how I’ve got to pop.’ It’s when the scouting report is off the table and it’s random stuff that just happens, and you’ve got to just react to it.”

Williams was confident he would get there.

Of course, at his own pace.

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