The next step Cody Williams must take for the Jazz is painfully obvious

Cody Williams had his best game with the Utah Jazz the other night. In the Jazz's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Williams had 18 points, one block, two three-pointers, a few dunks, and even an and-one. In other words, Williams showed a glimpse of the kind of player the Jazz want him to be. Hence, the next step for him will be consistency.

For the record, Williams has shown more for the Jazz this season compared to his rookie season despite vastly fewer opportunities. When he plays well, it's because he has confidence when he's on the floor and knows what he's doing. That certainly wasn't there at any point during his disastrous rookie season.

He's had his moments like this sprinkled throughout the season, like his role in their win over the Dallas Mavericks in December. The only problem, he hasn't been able to consistently play well. With what he's shown, no one should pressure him to put up the numbers he did against the Clippers on the regular, but he does have to show he can consistently be a positive on the floor.

The Jazz haven't counted as much on Williams as they did his rookie year, but he has shown progress, even if it's been baby steps. It has been frustrating seeing how extremely raw he is even if he was a lottery pick. However, he's at least finally showing that not all hope is lost. Even better is that he's doing more with less.

Utah tanking more games should give Williams more minutes

The reason why Williams even got to show out in the first place is because Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George were "out" with injuries. Even so, they gave the NBA's hottest team a good run for their money. When Markkanen and George are active, Williams will likely be on the bench.

But because the prevailing belief is that the Jazz will tank, which by extensions means Markkanen and George will miss more games as the season goes on, that should means Williams will get more opportunities. Williams has gone from completely hopeless prospect to somewhat hopeless prospect, meaning that if he struggles as he plays, that plays into the Jazz's hands in more ways than one.

Utah may lose more, but Williams will also get to fee himself out more as a player and how he fits on the team. Even if he has been a disappointment, the fans still root for him to turn into something for the team like they did with Dante Exum.

Many will shudder at the comparison only because Exum never quite lived up to his potential, but only because he always got hurt. Hopefully, injuries won't stop Williams from being the player the Jazz hope he can be.