Mark Williams needs an apology as loud as the disrespect as pieces fall into place

Where would the Phoenix Suns be without Mark Williams this season? The 23-year-old routinely turning in dominant performances, with the only regret being that he would have been the perfect big man when Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were in town.

Williams deserves as much praise as he has received criticism.

Which is why the former Charlotte Hornet should be getting praised to the same level both he and the Suns were being ridiculed for taking a gamble on him this offseason. Take their most recent win, an Emirates NBA Cup victory over the Sacramento Kings, as the perfect example.

Fans took to social media in the aftermath of his 21 point, 16 rebound monster performance to heap praise on him for helping the Suns power their way to a 112-100 win. He was also excellent on the defensive end, shutting out a team that to be perfectly honest, Phoenix should be beating.

Even the way head coach Jordan Ott has managed the fact he doesn't play in back-to-backs to turn that into a non-event has been excellent, and Williams has played his part with that too. He has silently worked away in the background to one day be ready to appear in those contests.

If anything his absence in these games bumps up his value even further, and at this point it is not hyperbole to say that he is doing a great impression of Deandre Ayton during that 2021 run to the NBA Finals. He does the dirty work to help this team succeed.

Another knock on Williams heading into the campaign was that he was an awful rim protector. With the Suns having the fifth best defensive rating in the last two weeks per Cleaning The Glass at 110.4, what can the haters say now? Williams is thriving on a hungry team with some star power.

Really though it is the fact he has remained healthy that changed the picture completely. Plenty criticized the fact he had only managed 44 games last season with the Hornets, and that represented a career high.

Then there was the failed trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. How they would surely love to have him over Ayton manning the paint right now. So for all of the stick that Williams received, he now deserves just as much praise. The Suns are no fluke this season, and he's been a massive part of why.

Yes Devin Booker is the star, Dillon Brooks shifted the culture and both Grayson Allen and Collin Gillespie have outperformed expectations. But there's a reason Nick Williams is now expendable and the franchise can give Khaman Maluach all the time he needs to grow. Mark Williams.