Off the Dribble: Mahoney: For the Hawks, It's a Marvin Williams Moment

Rob Mahoney brings Marvin Williams' excellent start to the season to the readers of NYTimes.com: Break Williams’ production down per minute, and the improvements really start to take shape. His scoring is up to 17.2 points per 36 minutes from 13.0 last season, largely because Williams has begun to turn one of his weaknesses – spotting up for jumpers on the perimeter – into a potential strength. Williams still takes his fair share of jumpers when the ball swings to him on the outside (he’s made nearly half of his 3-pointers this season, a shooting mark that will surely regress), but he’s also looked to put the ball on the floor against a defense scrambling to challenge his shot. Thus far, Williams has used these driving lanes to great benefit, as he’s nearly tripled the rate at which he draws fouls in spot-up situations, per Synergy Sports Technology.Williams is getting to the free-throw line a career-high 6.6 times – and turning the ball over a career-low 0.5 times – per 36 minu...