HoopsHype.com Rumors

While stopped in his car in Manayunk on Christmas Eve, Sixers guard Lou Williams was approached by a man with a gun. The situation was deflated when the gunman recognized Williams and commended him for his work in the community. Williams said he treated the man to a meal at a local fast food restaurant by giving him some money. "A guy tried to rob me but decided not to because of whatever I do in the community," said Williams. "He's a Lou Williams fan, so he didn't rob me." Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Williams said he was driving in his car when the man approached, knocked on the driver's window and had a gun drawn. "There's crime everywhere," said Williams. "I was debating whether to pull off to help the guy. The gun was already out. He did all the talking, and we came up with a solution before i could really say much. I treated him to McDonald's." Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

From Williams’ twitter account (by way of Larry Brown Sports and Ball Don’t Lie): Almost got robbed today.. But homie said he recognized me and the good I’ve done for his hood so that made him change his mind… WOW NBCSports.com

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Alex Kennedy: It turns out the Philadelphia 76ers won't shop Lou Williams. Source close to situation says, "There is absolutely no truth to that rumor." Twitter

Philadelphia 76ers, Trade, Louis Williams 

Alex Kennedy: The Philadelphia 76ers may start shopping Lou Williams, according to sources close to the situation. Twitter

Philadelphia 76ers, Trade, Louis Williams 

One is a Philly native, while the other is merely a transplant. For the native, the venue is old-hat by now. Key games of his high school and college careers played out on the storied hardwood. For the transplant, Sunday night served as a debut. North Philly's Kyle Lowry and Sixers guard Lou Williams combined to form a versatile backcourt for Team Philly as they knocked off Team Melo, 131-122, in the "Battle for I-95" at the Palestra. Typically, defense fails to get invited to these types of parties. But on Sunday, Williams showed glimpses of his defensive prowess. In the fourth, 6-foot-8 LeBron James caught a pass near the low post only to find Williams tightly guarding his back. With a nearly seven-inch advantage, James signaled for the isolation and began backing down Williams toward the block. As James launched for the layup, Williams leaped even higher and rejected the offering. Philadelphia Inquirer

Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James, Lockout, Louis Williams 

The atmosphere was more fitting for a rock concert. Though slated to start at 6 p.m., the sellout crowd patiently waited out the near 45-minute delayed start. And when the game finally got under way, there wasn't a dry eye in the house - nor a dry shirt, brow or face. You got the feeling that if there was supposed to be some kind of cooling system running through the old place, players from years gone past made sure it wasn't operational. This was not the type of basketball the Palestra is used to hosting. Philadelphia Inquirer

Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James, Lockout, Louis Williams 

The Sixers' Lou Williams had an opportunity to play in Europe for a team he would not disclose, but did say was in Europe’s top league. He turned it down. He had his reasons for rejecting the offer but he thinks for many of the guys choosing to go overseas, the reason is obvious. “I think it is financial,” Williams said on Sunday in Los Angeles, where eight Sixers have convened for off-season workouts. “I think a lot of it is also just wanting to play basketball. I think with the overseas thing, I think it comes down to personal preference. Me personally I am not a big traveler, the NBA season kills me as it is so I am not really a fan of going overseas and playing, but some guys like to travel and see different things and on top of that get an opportunity to play basketball.” CSNPhilly.com

Philadelphia 76ers, Lockout, Louis Williams 

When did you realize you had the chance to be an NBA player? MB: I always felt like I had the talent, but I knew I had to work on my strength, which is something I still have to work on. But I go home and I get the chance to play with a lot of pros like Louis Williams and Josh Smith at the Pro-Am in Atlanta. When I played against those guys, I played well. So I had the confidence that I could play with anybody. Louis Williams is a proven basketball player and Josh Smith is a proven basketball player. When I played against those guys, I saw they were good players, but also that the talent level was not that far away… That gave me the confidence to think I could compete at the NBA level. HoopsHype

Draft, Josh Smith, Louis Williams, Marshon Brooks 

How does it make you feel that Coach Collins has re-adjusted the game plan to let you shoulder the responsibility of taking the last shot? Louis Williams: “It’s a great thing for me to have a coach, to have teammates that believe in me to take that last shot. You know that’s kind of unorthodox being a bench player and coming off the bench and they way that those things happen, usually you have the ball in the starters hands, but it’s just a great thing. You know my teammates they support it and obviously Coach [Collins] does. It’s just a great thing for me.” Sports Radio Interviews

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Although it has very little to do with tonight's on-court execution, 76ers guard Lou Williams did say he expected tonight's Wells Fargo Center crowd to be better than the crowd the Sixers faced at Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena during the first two games of this best-of-seven series. "Ours will be better," Williams said of tonight's crowd, adding that he's not dissing Miami's crowd, only that he thinks Philly fans have been waiting for a long time to see good, hard playoff basketball and that he feels they'll respond well. (By the way: "limited" number of tickets are still available in "select areas" for tonight's game. Translation? It's not yet a sellout, so you can still get tickets.) At this morning's shootaround one reporter mentioned Miami embracing the "villian" role and asked whether Sixers coach Doug Collins would "consider telling the fans not to boo." (To this suggestion, Collins obviously rolled his eyes like, "you kidding me?") Philadelphia Inquirer

Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Dime: We know you’re a Converse guy, but tell us a little about your clothing brand, Evol Rocx Clothing. Louis Williams: It’s Evol, which is “love” spelled backwards, Rocx. Love rocks. We’ve been doing it for a year now. I have a few partners out of Florida and a few partners out of New York. We all merged together to create this clothing line. We’ve been doing very well. Right now, we’re starting off basic – sweaters, t-shirts, skullies – things like that. It’s just something to expand your portfolio. Dime: How much are you involved with the designs and the marketing? LW: It’s not something that I just put a bunch of money into and just sit back for a check. I sit in the meetings and we go over the different designs, colors, layouts and schemes that we want to do. Dime

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Dime: Can we expect more videos like the “I’m A Boss” freestyle? That was pretty hot. LW: (laughs) “I’m A Boss” was spur of the moment. We just got bored and I was playing music and they were like, “We should shoot it in the studio.” What happened is we put it on YouTube, and WorldStar ripped it off of YouTube, and that’s how that whole thing started. Dime: Any mixtapes in the future? LW: I have plenty of mixtapes. I don’t know about a mixtape for the public. (laughs) When you’re doing something that’s a hobby, you don’t want to be criticized for something you do for fun. Dime

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Dime: Who did you grow up listening to? LW: I’ve always been a Lil Wayne fan. I liked Lil Wayne before he was “Lil Wayne.” Bone Thugs-n-Harmony was always playing around my house. Anything Southern – Juvenile, 8Ball & MJG, Memphis stuff, Atlanta stuff. Dime: Who are you listening to now? LW: Right now I’m actually more into R&B stuff. A little Usher, Lloyd’s new stuff. But I’m still on hip-hop. I listen to a lot of Meek Mill, of course. Drake is really dope. Wayne is really dope. I like a lot of the underground stuff that’s coming out of Atlanta. Waka Flocka, Travis Porter and Young Chris make good music as wel Dime

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

Tom Haberstroh: Lou Williams takes some of blame for FT disparity, says injury "kills half of my game. Can't into the lane and create fouls." Twitter

Philadelphia 76ers, Louis Williams 

When 76ers assistant coach Aaron McKie takes the court with members of the team during practice or shootarounds or before games, he scowls and plays the same way that carried him through a Big 5 Hall of Fame career at Temple and 13 years in the NBA. Yesterday, McKie went one-on-one with Lou Williams. That is a very good sign for the Sixers, as a game with McKie is always played at a high pace. Williams, of course, hasn't been able to do much of anything on the court of late because of a strained right hamstring that forced him to miss his fifth consecutive game last night. But a game against McKie means his hamstring is getting better, maybe even strong enough for him to go against the Miami Heat in the first game of the opening round of the playoffs Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Injuries, Louis Williams 

Combo guard Lou Williams, who strained his right hamstring in the loss to Milwaukee, went through practice on Tuesday. After practice, he ran some light sprints to test the hamstring. Although Williams has already been ruled out of Wednesday night's game, Sixers coach Doug Collins said he felt Williams would be ready for the playoff opener. "I don't think people realize - I do and our team does - Lou is our personality," Collins said. "He's our voice. He gets us into the huddles; he gets us out of the huddles. He gets the guys before the game and after the game. We missed his voice, his energy, and his personality." Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Injuries, Louis Williams 

On Sunday, 76ers guard Lou Williams said he was confident he'd be ready for the NBA playoffs. Last week, Williams listed his status as "hopeful," but progress during recent treatment sessions has Williams more optimistic that he will be available when the team's first-round playoff series begins this weekend. Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Injuries, Louis Williams 

Guard Lou Williams, who is nursing a strained right hamstring that he injured last Saturday in Milwaukee, went out to the court with trainer Kevin Johnson at his side, just to see where the hamstring is right now. Williams stayed on the court between five and ten minutes, shooting some stand-still shots. "I feel like it's coming along well," he said afterwards. "I just finished some light shooting just to be able to see if I would be able to move my legs. I was able to get some shots up, pain free. There's still some bumps in the road ahead, but I'm feeling good about it." Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Injuries, Louis Williams 

Williams has missed the past two games, both losses, and is ruled out for the reamining games of the regular season. Whether or not he'll be able to heal enough to get back on the court for the first round of the playoffs, which will start next Saturday or Sunday, is anyone's guess. "Hopefully I can come back for the playoffs," he said. "They've already ruled me out for the remainder (of the season), but hopefully I can come back for the playoffs." Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia 76ers, Injuries, Louis Williams