Mikey Williams manages to pull us away just as we are about to hail him as a dependable shooting star worthy of his insanely big deal.

Mikey vanished in the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, barely flickering with two points as TNT lost to NLEX, 110-108. Mikey had just fired 24 points versus Rain or Shine last January 27, hitting 6-of-10 threes and 8-of-16 field goals altogether.

Mikey went from All-Star to starless in just five days.

Williams abused Rain or Shine’s defense by shooting 50% from the field and 60% from three points, but against the Road Warriors, he only managed 10% from the field (1-of-10) and 0 from long range (0-for-5).

Williams performed so poorly that eight of his local teammates who all earn substantially less money outscored him.

Furthermore, it was not due to a lack of playing time.

In his time against RoS, he spent 39 minutes and 19 seconds, and in his time against NLEX, he spent 34:51.

Jekyll and Hyde

Mikey’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tendencies are bad news for the Tropang Giga team, who are under a lot of pressure after their shameful Commissioner’s Cup departure.

Players do, after all, have bad days.

However, there is always a hint of mystery surrounding Mikey. He appears miserable on the court, and occasionally he exudes a polite lack of interest while appearing to be merely going through the motions.

What is going on with Mikey this time around when the team banned him last October for skipping team practices?

For whatever he is dealing through, but wow, sportsmen deal with some tough stuff in life all the time and many of them manage. It has been referred to as compartmentalizing and acting professionally.

However, does Mikey possess the mental strength to distinguish between his personal and professional obligations?

TNT believes so.

However, a family matter got in the way of his soap opera-like contract negotiations last June, when he allegedly skipped at least two planes to return to the Philippines to begin practice.

Mikey is fortunate to work for a company that is very understanding and supportive of him.

Mikey is fortunate that his coach is still believing in him after that lackluster effort in his most recent game.

Fans of the PBA are also all too familiar with Mikey’s headache-inducing streak of inconsistency.

However, the real question is: How long can TNT endure this roller coaster of a show with Mikey Williams before cutting the cord?