Mark Williams returns in Charlotte’s loss to 76ers. ‘It felt good to be out there’
An anticipated event finally took place on Tuesday, something many were waiting patiently for because it hadn’t happened in close to a year.
No, not the white stuff dusting parts of the region for the first time in more than 1,039 days, accenting holiday decorations with traces of snow.
This was about Mark Williams, the Charlotte Hornets’ center who’s become a forgotten man in a sense because of his injury history over the last 12 months. So, his return from a strained tendon in his left foot represented a significant milestone, and a mental pick-me-up for a team besieged with more than its share of player ailments.
Williams’ presence alone wasn’t enough to spark the struggling Hornets in a 110-104 loss to Philadelphia in their NBA Cup East Group A finale. But just having Williams available for the first time since Dec. 8, 2023 gives the Hornets something positive to hang their collective jerseys on.
“I think his presence down there, it could help us through the whole game,” Brandon Miller said. “Of course, it’s just building his confidence back up, getting him acclimated with everybody, playing with the team. And when we are fully healthy, I think we are going to be dangerous.”
Coming off the bench and on a severe minutes restriction given the amount of action needed to ramp himself back into game shape, Williams was a tad rusty as expected. Logging two four-plus minute stints, he registered four points and three rebounds, needing a few possessions to get going and into a rhythm.
He couldn’t convert on his first drive to the basket — a left-handed layup — and seconds later committed an offensive foul setting a screen. Getting whistled for goaltending thanks to mistiming a block attempt and seeing a running right-hander rim out didn’t deter Williams before he broke the seal on the basket with a pair of second-quarter free throws.
After all the hours of rehabilitation, dating to last season when a lower back injury kept him sidelined for 63 games, Williams wasn’t about to be too picky, though.
“It felt good to be out there,” Williams said. “But it wasn’t like I was milking it or trying to not be out there. I think I was doing in my power to be back and I was able to be back (Tuesday night).
“Obviously, I was on a minutes restriction. Overall, it just felt good to be back. But yeah, it’s been a while. And shout out to my teammates for keeping me up. It’s tough being out that long. You don’t like being out that long. You get bored, you get frustrated, you get annoyed, disappointed — all those things. It’s just good to be back.”
Expecting too much too soon from Williams is probably unwise. His progression will be gradual, aided by a slow uptick in minutes each game.
“It’s a balance,” coach Charles Lee said. “You get in the heat of the moment sometimes and you’re like, ‘Oh, this guy has got to do what everybody else is doing.’ But you forget that he hasn’t been out there. But I thought he did a really good job. I have so much trust and faith in him, and he’s been working his tail off. And he’s going to continue to get better, just with more reps.”
Increasing game action is the final step in a lengthy ramp up for Williams.
“He’s done a phenomenal job of being engaged in everything we’re doing,” Lee said. “So, he’s had his return to play plan, but he never is doing something that’s going to take away from the team. He’s always traveled, he’s been in every film session.”
It’s behind the scenes where Williams has turned heads most with Lee.
“There’s been a couple times in practice where you have these moments of, ‘He’s going to help us,’” Lee said. “As I’m watching drills during practice, he’ll come stand next to me and he’ll say whatever it may be. And you’re just like, ‘Damn, that guy gets it. That’s a thoughtful question or that’s a thoughtful statement to say, ‘Hey, I should be working behind the defense in that zone set.’ And you’re like, ‘Yep, he’s going to help us.’ … He brings another element of basketball IQ.”
Together again with Nick Richards, the Hornets are finally whole at the position, which hasn’t been the case for the better part of the past 12 months. Richards, who got the starting nod after coming off the bench in his first outing back following a 14-game absence due to a shoulder injury, must also shake off the cobwebs physically and mentally but looked much better against the 76ers, posting 22 points and 14 rebounds.
With 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, Richards became the 19th player in franchise history since at least 1996-97 — and first since Williams on Nov. 10, 2023 — to record a points-rebounds double-double in a half.
“He and I had a moment during the last game where I had to remind him this wasn’t the three-on-three return to play,” Lee said. “We change our defenses, so you’ve got to be ready to be up in pick-and-roll … and get back. It’s not (Hornets assistant coach) Zach Peterson or one of the video guys.
“But I thought he did a really good job of adjusting after that. He was like, ‘Thanks for the reminder, It won’t happen again. And I just thought that we were able to move him on some different guys. I thought he just really helped us with our defensive side of things. And adding another element again offensively, (in) being able to throw it to him down there around the paint and the basket.”
In other words, getting back to the Hornets’ originally scheduled plan.
“Like it’s been 360 days,” Williams said. “Nah, it’s definitely been a while. Definitely some rhythm stuff I’ve got to get back in the flow of. Yeah, I think you can’t replicate the game as much as you can in practice. You are going to try your best, but it’s obviously not the same. So I think that will just come with time.
“But it definitely felt good to be out there, just doing what I can.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 11:23 PM.
