They are the young and the restless.
The last time we left them, Jay was ranting and Jamal was smiling on the inside while putting up points on the outside, three games of at least 20 points in four games, although the Bulls lost three of the four.
Then Tuesday night, in a 103-78 victory over the Atlanta Hawks that was the Bulls’ most one-sided win of the season, Jay was with the group that was the catalyst off the bench. It figures to be Williams’ spot for the rest of the season.
Jay Williams and Jamal Crawford. They are just a few of the Bulls’ children, but the crankiest this season.
“It’s hard not playing the minutes I was used to before,” Williams said after scoring nine points with eight assists in 22 minutes against the Hawks.
“But Jamal has been playing really well. I just want to come in, play hard and see us do well. We were trying to make things happen, and it worked out well.
“You look at nine points and eight assists and only imagine if you’re out there more. But I’m not trying to be selfish. I’m just glad to be a part of it and that we won.
“Hey, the last game I had 12 minutes, so 20 is a big improvement.”
The days of the Bulls’ lottery point guards has been this year’s ongoing soap opera, which was the prediction when the season began. Jamal complained and Jay played. Then Jay complained and Jamal played. Both sought counseling from Dr. Bill, although perhaps Jalen Rose has been the guiding light.
“We’re about winning, and no one has led us to a winning record,” Rose said.
The Bulls are 7-11 when Crawford starts. They’re 17-34 when Williams starts. Crawford, the better shooter, is capable of bigger scoring games. But he’s shooting only 39.3 percent for the season. Williams is shooting 38 percent.
But since Williams erupted after a loss to Orlando earlier this month and was benched, he is shooting 48.8 percent and averaging 8.1 points in 18.3 minutes per game while Crawford is shooting 43.2 percent and averaging 14.6 points and seven assists in 31.6 minutes per game.
“Coming off the bench has allowed Jay to relax and let the pressure roll off his shoulders and settle into who he is,” Rose said. “Now it gives him confidence to go against second-unit players. Once he gets that confidence rolling, he’s going to be a player.”
Maybe at shooting guard. That’s where Philadelphia uses 6-footer Allen Iverson. That’s how the champion Detroit Pistons used Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson, both of whom were smaller guards who could play the point but were more effective as scorers.
Most NBA teams have a regular starting point guard with a solid veteran like Rick Brunson backing him up. Williams insists he’d be just as comfortable as the shooting guard.
“It’s what I played in college,” he said. “There’s nothing I like more than pressuring the ball, coming off screens, the ability to find people, create off the ball. We have to see. I’ll keep working hard and see what happens.”
It was a year ago this week that Williams was on his way to winning the Naismith and Wooden Player of the Year Awards and lining up for an aborted run at a second consecutive NCAA championship at Duke. Finishing the first losing season of his life as a reserve has made for an even longer season.
“I haven’t faced adversity like I have this year,” Williams said. “I’ve messed up along the way. But one thing that stays consistent for me is the work ethic. I have to keep working hard and fighting through it. There are a lot of things you have to learn. Being a good college player coming into the league, sometimes you can overlook that.
“The thing I had to realize is that guys are faster, guys are quicker, guys are more athletic. I can’t get to the basket as easily as I could in college. I can’t always finish. So I have to develop different parts of my game after being so used to dominating at one part of the game.”
Because, really, he has just one NBA life to live.
