2 Ways Grant Williams can help the Dallas Mavericks, 2 ways he could hurt

Basketball never sleeps when it comes to the Dallas Mavericks.

Late on Tuesday night, former Mavs big man Christian Wood signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wednesday morning, Luka Doncic and Slovenia fell short in the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals against Dwight Powell and Canada.

On the other side of the map, new addition Grant Williams was seen courtside cheering on the Dallas Wings Tuesday. This was his second WNBA sighting this week, as he was at Sunday's game.

Williams also made headlines Wednesday when he joined the "NBA Today" show to discuss games for the Mavericks this season and characters he would assign to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

In the interview, he discussed his excitement to match up against teams in the Western Conference. Williams mentioned players such as Kawhi Leonard, Lebron James, Zion Williamson, and Anthony Davis that he would have to pair up against. The current Mav also discussed the ability to play against his former team, the Boston Celtics.

As for nicknames, Williams was quick to compare his current teammates to fictional characters. Right off the bat, he compared Doncic to "Martian Manhunter." He reasoned that everyone is afraid of the alien. Irving drew similarities to "Blue Beatle" because he has many gadgets and arsenals.

Williams also gave Mark Cuban the superlative of being Superman. To him, Cuban is the one person the team always looks to for help.

Yet while the public got to know Williams, there is also so much more to learn about him.

The former Celtic is expected to be Dallas' starting power forward. Assuming this is still the plan, then it's time Mavs' fans got to know their newest addition.

Here are two ways Grant Williams can help the Dallas Mavericks and two ways he can hurt them.

Help 1. Defense

One of the main reasons Dallas brought in Williams was his ability to play lockdown defense. He is also the main guy being called upon to guard the opposite team's best player.

Overall, he has a 110.9 career defensive rating. He finished last season with a 112.9 rating, and he tallied six blocks and five steals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Williams' best performance came against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Against Jimmy Butler, he was bothersome. An example of this is in Game 4. He held Miami's All-Star from shooting above 50 percent.

Look at the play below to see how he stopped Butler from finding comfort.

In the play, Williams forces Butler to stop his dribble. Then, he makes Butler take a tough contested shot. Lastly, he used his body and weight to pull the ball away from the opposition and set up a scoring opportunity for his team.

In game 2 of the series, Williams showed grit and fight. He was the one Celtics player willing to get into the head of Butler and go toe to toe with Miami's best.

During his time with Boston, the Mav forward was always seen guarding the likes of players such as Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

If there is anything Dallas lacked over the past couple of seasons, it is a player willing to set the tone on the defensive end.