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That’s how good it’s gotten for the Wine and Gold. So star-studded are the 21st Century Cavaliers that their All-Star guard, Mo Williams, is almost overlooked. While the media focuses on Shaq’s thunder and LeBron’s lightning, the laid-back point man simply does his thing.
This year, after a slow start, Williams has returned to All-Star form. In the Cavaliers first two contests, Williams averaged 14.0 points on .318 shooting – including .286 (2-for-7) from long-distance. In the Cavaliers last two wins, Mo is averaging 22.0 ppg, going .517 from the floor, .667 (8-for-12) from beyond the arc.
“We’re trying to get this thing gelling, moving in the right direction,” said Williams after his 20-point performance in Minnesota. “I’m trying to be more assertive, more aggressive. I made a concerted effort … to be more aggressive.”
A strong point guard around these parts isn’t something that should be taken for granted.
Through the first half-decade of the LeBron James Era, that position was the team’s biggest toothache from one season to the next. Preceding Williams were the likes of Eric Snow, J.R. Bremer, Jeff McInnis, Lucious Harris, Damon Jones, Kevin Ollie and even Darius Miles.
Two offseasons ago, the Cavaliers stabilized the point position for the foreseeable future when they dealt (essentially) Damon Jones for Williams. All the former ‘Bama guard did in his first season with Cleveland was start 81 games, averaging a career-best 17.2 points per contest, shooting .912 from the stripe and earning his first trip to the midseason classic.
Mo eased into the role of Cleveland’s secondary scorer last season and he and LeBron became the league’s top scoring duo in both the regular season (46.1 ppg) and the playoffs (51.6 ppg). The dynamic duo is back at it again this year.
“We’re getting better acclimated and more comfortable playing together,” said Williams. “We have things on the floor where we just ‘read’ each other, like we know what’s going to happen. But that comes with playing a lot of minutes with him, knowing what he likes to do –knowing his moves, knowing when he’s going to pass it. It’s just a bond we have on the floor.”
Mo took some heat for his playoff performance. And while he was definitely feeling the pressure from a deep dive into the postseason, Williams still averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 boards and 3.7 assists in the Eastern Conference Finals – including a 24-point outburst in Game 5, going 6-for-9 from long-distance.
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After an inconsistent preseason that saw Mo get spot-duty because of a sore groin – and the rest of the squad laid up with the flu – it’s been a slow process of assimilation for the floor captain.
“I think it was harder for me at first, being the point guard, trying to make all the right decisions, getting guys in place,” reasoned the former second-rounder. “And the more we play, guys are getting to those spots on their own and I don’t have to worry about orchestrating as much as I was in the first couple games. The more we play, the better guys get at reading my voice, and it’s showing.”
With ballhandlers like LeBron, Delonte West and Anthony Parker surrounding him, Williams knows that he doesn’t have to play a traditional point guard. But he’s still the team’s main facilitator – taking James off the ball. And with a low-post presence the likes of which they’ve never had, the team is just now finding its comfort level with one another.
Like the Cavaliers, Williams is rediscovering his form from a year ago. Through the Wine and Gold’s first four games, Mo’s averaging 18.0 ppg, going .526 from three-point range – .431 from the floor overall. In Saturday’s win over Charlotte, he led everyone with 24.
More than anything, Williams isn’t over-thinking – he’s reacting. And after a slow start, the pieces are slowly coming into place.
“We’re getting more and more familiar with each other now,” added Williams. “Each game, we get better and better on the floor.”
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