At 33-15, the Toronto Raptors are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference. As of February 2, 2015, they were also only one of four teams on a win streak of five or more games; with the the Raptors hitting six. Due to their recent success, most of the focus is on the play of NBA All-Star, was traded to the Raptors from the Atlanta Hawks in a three-player deal this past summer. In his 10th NBA season, Williams’ numbers are currently at career highs, and his role as the first player off the bench for the Raptors is paying huge dividends for the second-place Raptors.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, in his first nine seasons, Williams averaged 10.8 points per game and had a Player Efficiency Rating of 16. Last season for the Hawks, Williams averaged 10.4 points per game and had a -5.7 plus/minus per 100 possessions. In those first nine seasons, Williams was classified as a point guard six times by basketball-reference.com, most recently playing 84 percent of his minutes as a point guard last year for the Atlanta Hawks.
Through 49 games for the Raptors, Williams is averaging 24.6 minutes per game off the bench, playing 99 percent of his minutes at shooting guard. Williams is averaging a career-high 15.4 points per game, shooting a career-high 5.3 three point attempts per game, and has a Player Efficiency Rating of 20.0, the second-highest of his career (in 2011-12 with the Sixers it was 20.2). Among other guards in the league, Williams also has a our rankings, at this point in the season, the Raptors are a 100 percent lock to make the playoffs and are projected to have a 7.8 percent chance to win the NBA championship. Without Lou Williams and his career high numbers this season, the Raptors would likely not be in this position and would still be searching for additional help from a bench that is almost identical to that of the 2013-2014 season, of which did not have one player scoring more than 10 points per game. On the other hand, Williams should be thanking the Raptors for finding him the perfect role which he can excel at and play to his strengths.