Derrick Williams flew past Cristiano Felicio for a monster dunk during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Saturday night game against the Chicago Bulls.
With Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls in town to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night, the main narrative was LeBron James facing his old Miami Heat teammate.
That didn’t stop Derrick Williams from stealing the highlight of the game, though.
Ever since signing the former No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cavs have enjoyed his energy and athleticism off the bench. He’s only appeared in five games for Cleveland heading into Saturday’s action, but he’s put up a productive 9.8 points in 23.6 minutes per game, shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from downtown.
With the Bulls and Cavs knotted at 35 about halfway through the second quarter on Saturday, rookie Kay Felder found Williams streaking towards the basket and fed him the ball.
Chicago defender Cristiano Felicio stepped up, but he probably should’ve just gotten out of the way since Williams had already lifted off. The result? An emphatic slam that ignited Quicken Loans Arena.
Derrick Williams with the emphatic slam pic.twitter.com/AoK0ft9ww3
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) February 26, 2017
Though the Cavaliers only led by one at the half, Derrick Williams once again provided a glimpse of what he brings to the table for a championship contender off the bench. He went into the break with four points on 2-of-3 shooting.
After depth was an issue for the Cavs the last two seasons, general manager David Griffin has done an excellent job addressing the second unit, even with Kevin Love and J.R. Smith currently sidelined.
Pickups like Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams and, soon enough, Deron Williams are sure to help Cleveland manage its rotation whenever LeBron or Kyrie Irving needs a quick breather come playoff time.
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It remains to be seen what Cleveland will do once Williams’ second 10-day contract expires, but for now, he’s doing all that a championship contender has asked of him — all while playing alongside the superstar who went one pick ahead of him in the 2011 NBA Draft.