Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee!
By Ti Windisch
Jan 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) moves the ball up court during the fourth quarter of the game against the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers beat the Pistons 89-69. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Now that the dust is starting to settle on this massive, completely unexpected trade let’s take a closer look at Milwaukee’s new point guard (the one from Philly, not Phoenix), Michael Carter-Williams (or as I like to call him, MCDub).
Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) scores past New Orleans Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham (44) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
There he is. MCDub, in all his glory.
A few general things about MCDub before we get to statistics and things like that. First thing’s first; he has some hardware. Carter-Williams was the NBA Rookie of the Year last season. He was only the third rookie to ever lead all rookies in points, assists and rebounds. So belated congratulations to you, Michael! He was also a member of last year’s All-NBA Rookie First Team unsurprisingly enough.
Some more general information about Carter-Williams is probably important as well. He’s 23 years old (the same age as Brandon Knight) and tall for a point guard (6’6″). He went to college at Syracuse and played there for two years, having a much better second season after a rough first year.
The 76ers drafted MCDub eleventh overall in 2013, just four picks ahead of the Bucks’ selection of Giannis Antetokounmpo (who went 15th). Those two are two of the better picks from that entire draft as it turns out, so the 2013 NBA Draft was good to Milwaukee in that sense.
Now, let’s get to Carter-Williams’ game. Although they’re the same age, he’s kind of the anti-Brandon Knight. Whereas Brandon had problems with passing and could shoot the lights out, MCDub is known as a gifted passer but not a great shooter. This year MCDub is scoring 15 points a game (which is pretty good) on 15 shots a game (which is very much not good). He’s shooting 38 percent overall and an abysmal 25 percent from three. He’s also averaging over four turnovers a game, which is a lot. So his game has a few holes right now.
There are good parts of it too though! MCDub is averaging 7.4 assists and 6.2 rebound per game, both better averages than Knight has ever put up. And although they’re the same age, MCDub get’s more leeway for shaky numbers because he’s still only in his second season in the NBA. Just as Brandon Knight was, MCDub will get better and better the longer he stays in Milwaukee.
In fact, I think he’ll put up career-high numbers in his 29 regular season games with the Bucks. I have two reasons to think so.
Firstly, Jason Kidd is like the point guard whisperer. Brandon Knight was having a career year under Kidd’s tutelage, including more than a few eight-plus assist games in the last few weeks (four in his last seven games to be specific).
There’s no reason he can’t work similar magic with MCDub. In addition to his assists going up, Knight was having his best shooting season in all three areas (field goal shooting, three-point shooting and free throw shooting). I think MCDub will have a similar resurgence due to Kidd.
Secondly, there’s the rest of the Bucks. MCDub was in a tough situation in Philadelphia (which he handled with aplomb). The 76ers have been a little better this season, but they’re still pretty bad. The Bucks are not. They shoot the ball very well.
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In fact, Khris Middleton is one of the best shooters in the NBA this season. MCDub had to carry the Sixers a lot last season and sometimes this season as well. He will not have to carry the Bucks. This will definitely cut down his turnovers now that he can be an actual point guard who can rely on teammates to score.
The fact that he’s going to a team that is winning is going to have a dramatic impact on his stats for those reasons. In Philly MCDub often had to force shots to keep his team competitive (as especially in his first season he was far and away the best player on his team). This led to turnovers and missed shots galore because Carter-Williams chose to put his team over his stat sheet.
Milwaukee won’t require him to play this sort of reluctant hero-ball. He will be free to play to his strengths and work on his weaknesses under coach Kidd, and finally not have to worry about being charged with tanking. So I have to say, as much as I loved Brandon Knight I’m starting to really like MCDub as well. That Player’s Tribune piece I linked up there is written by Carter-Williams and I think it really sums up what he’s about. He’s a fighter who wants to win, and Milwaukee will give him plenty of chances to do that.
Now let’s sit back and watch him run the Bucks offense.