No longer can time, inexperience or anything else be an excuse for Kings point guard Jason Williams. He's been here, done this, and, most of all, had his lunch handed to him far too many times.
It's something that is known by his coaches, his teammates and seemingly by everyone around him.
The only one who refuses to acknowledge the reality is Williams.
On Saturday, Williams looked as if he were absolutely petrified of trying to defend Philadelphia's Allen Iverson. And if you think Iverson didn't recognize that, it's time to go back to Basketball 101.
It's time for Williams to recognize that he entered the league with a bull's-eye on his chest and has done nothing more for the past 2 1/2 seasons than enlarge the target to include his entire body.
And for Williams to reduce the target, which must be accomplished before removing it is a reasonable concept, he must fight, maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively.
That's the approach he must take tonight, when the Kings meet the Phoenix Suns at Arco Arena in the first game of 2001.
Maybe Williams didn't realize it, but much of the nation watched Iverson thoroughly embarrass him during the third quarter of the Kings' 107-104 loss Saturday.
It's not that Iverson scored 16 of his season-high 46 points during the nine minutes of the third quarter when Williams guarded him. And it's not that 76ers guard Aaron McKie totally abused Williams for six points, six assists and four rebounds in the first quarter.
It's the manner in which Williams allowed those performances to occur that threatens to isolate him from his teammates.
That's because they have seen Vernon Maxwell and Tony Delk, in the past, and Bobby Jackson, currently, battle with everything they have to guard an Iverson, a Baron Davis, or a Jason Kidd, for that matter.
Not only should it be an individual matter of pride, but when a player is allowed to have his way in the manner that Iverson did Saturday and Davis did last Thursday for Charlotte, it wrecks the team's entire defensive stance.
And, while Williams bears a huge responsibility for his defensive ability, he does have options.
If, in fact, he cannot stop an Iverson or a Davis, then he has to be aggressive, even overly aggressive, at the offensive end and make those players work exceedingly hard to defend him.
Williams is not out there by himself. His defensive liabilities are no surprise, and, therefore, it is up to the Kings' coaches to make him work before or after practice, on off days, or in the middle of the night to try to improve.
Whether they put him through drills until his baggy shorts fall off or make him chase players around picks until he falls over, the Kings' coaches must make Williams recognize how pitiful he looks when a player scores as easily and effortlessly as Iverson did in the third quarter Saturday.
It's come to the point where Williams, who says he does not like to look at tape of his opponents, should receive an even worse fate. He should be required to watch tape of himself offering far less than a determined effort to defend against players who get extra enjoyment out of taking him to the cleaners.
Williams has shown that effort occasionally this season, but the more hype the Kings receive, the more they will receive the opposition's best. True, Iverson also scored while while being defended by Doug Christie and Jackson on Saturday. Iverson is one of the league's best one-on-one players and combines that with an attack-dog approach that also made the Kings' best defenders pay.
But Christie and Jackson were willing to grab, hold, bump and contest Iverson's every movement. They tried to deny him the ball and nearly exhausted themselves at times in doing so.
Yo, J-Will, is the pride there or not? If it is, then bring it -- nightly. To do anything else means you have nothing more to offer. And if that's the case, then maybe the name of Vancouver's Mike Bibby doesn't sound that bad.
