Ersan Ilyasova
Perhaps the biggest Bucks player to be impacted by Williams’ arrival, Ersan Ilyasova may be forced to fight for minutes in an increasingly crowded frontcourt at this stage of the season.
The Turkish veteran can certainly run hot and cold and it so happens that Williams enters the fore at a time where Ilyasova has been mired in an increasingly cold streak. His struggles throughout his spot start during the Bucks’ win over the Sacramento Kings Monday night were the latest and pronounced example of that as he finished with seven points on 10 shots (1-for-4 from deep), eight rebounds and four fouls over 25 minutes of action (Ilyasova did finish as a +6, though).
Since the turn of the new year, Ilyasova has averaged just 5.2 points per game on .373./324/.938 shooting splits, along with 4.3 rebounds across 14.5 minutes per game over 17 appearances. Remarkably, the Bucks have outscored their opponents by +2.7 points per 100 possessions with Ilyasova on the floor during this stretch, per NBA.com/stats.
In many ways, Ilyasova and Williams’ respective games overlap in many ways between their shared ability to knock down shots from the perimeter and to provide strong team defense. The same goes for their career trajectory as both Ilyasova and Williams have been able to extend their games, especially as the NBA continues to explore ways to play smaller.
Williams certainly does pose as Ilyasova insurance for both his streakiness as well as combating any bad matchups that come as a result of the latter’s athletic limitations. And how Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer handles the minutes workload for each player will be an interesting storyline from here on out.