Is Mo the special ingredient to a championship recipie?

Mo WilliamsA 6’1 stud from Jackson Mississippi, Mo Williams, is now playing for his third team in his brief six year NBA career. He was drafted in the second round (47) of the 2003 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. He averaged 5 points  and 1.3 assists per game in his rookie campaign. The next year Mo was signed by the Milwakee Bucks as a free agent and he averaged 10.2 points per game and 6.1 assists per game. He was coming off of the bench, behind guard T.J. Ford, but was still able to show his flare for the dramatics. In a game against the Indiana Pacers, in which the Bucks had trailed the entirity of the game, Williams took the ball the length of the floor and sank a 30 foot jumper as time expired to give his team the 103-102 victory.

The next season is when Mo had his first legitimate opportunity to shine, when he was inserted into the starting lineup following a trade that sent T.J. Ford north of the border to join the Raptors. Mo took the bull by the horns and ran with it. His averages exploded to 17.3 points and 6.1 assists per contest. He even recorded his first career triple double in a game against the Miami Heat in 2006 with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. This high performance rate followed him the next season, 17.2 points and 6.4 assists and landed him a massive six year $52 million deal.

Things were looking just dandy for Mo. He was a prolific scorer, an exceptional floor general, and he walked around with a heavy wallet, but this was all on the surface. There was an abundance of turmoil within the Bucks locker room. The team had been struggling with losing records on top of slight friction between the players.  Micheal Redd, the Bucks All-Star and Olympian, was becoming somewhat frustrated with the rising star. Redd believed that Milwaukee was his city. Come on, he had already ran out one of the best shooters in NBA history in Ray Allen. He was not about to have Mo Williams dethrone him as the “King of the Court.” So it was inevitable that Mo had to be traded and what a blessing it was for Cleveland fans.

Cleveland aquired the point guard on August 13, 2008 in a three team deal between the Cavs, Bucks, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Cavaliers sent Damon Jones to Milwaukee and forward Joe Smith to the Thunder. “Aquiring Mo strengthens our nucleus of players for both the short and long term. He is entering his prime NBA years and will be part of the foundation of our future success,” said by Cavs general manager Danny Ferry. The true “King of the Court” LeBron James has never had a teammate average 17 points per game and that is exactly what he got in Williams.

In Williams first season in Cleveland he has done absolutely nothing but astonish. He has averaged a career best 17.8 points per game along with 4.1 assists. Mo posted his career high in scoring with 43 over the Sacramento Kings only to top that soon after with 44 over the Phoenix Suns. Mo was named to his first ever All-Star team this season, maybe a sign of things to come. The team chemistry now is amazing whether the team is dancing together on the bench or posing together before games for their invisible camera. Mo Williams to Cleveland has been an absolute success so far leading to the NBA’s best record (66-16) but will it deliver what everyone in Cleveland is starving for, the Larry O’Brien trophy? Only time will tell.

Lorenzen Wright Undergoes thumb surgery

Cavaliers forward Lorenzen Wright will undergo surgery after breaking his thumb in Cleveland’s regular-season finale against the 76ers.

Wright, who was not expected to play during the postseason, got hurt in the second half of Wednesday night’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The team said the 12-year veteran will have an operation on Friday at the Cleveland Clinic and his recovery will take six weeks.

Kevin Garnett could miss the entire playoffs

Doc Rivers said Thursday that there’s a strong possibility that Kevin Garnett could miss the entire postseason and the Celtics will have to move on and defend their title without him according to ESPN.”He’s not going to be ready. After watching him practice, there’s no way,” Rivers said on WEEI-AM. “The way I saw him move today, I don’t know if he’ll be ready.”

Rivers watched Garnett run at the team’s practice facility and said he had to shut him down after 20 minutes.
“If he can’t get through biking and working out without swelling and his leg locking, I don’t know how you can play in the playoffs,” Rivers said. “This was an honest run today, you couldn’t make your way through it. The guy’s a warrior, you see him try to mask his way through it. But after 20 minutes of running, I don’t see it. After today, there’s no way he can play.”

If the Celtics adance in the playoffs, the Cavaliers could face them in the Eastern Conference finals.

Cavs Begin Championship Quest by Facing Familiar Foe

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ reward for finishing with the NBA’s best record (66-16) while shattering the previous franchise record for wins in a season (57) is a first round matchup with the dysfunctional Detroit Pistons. Cleveland and Detroit squared off in a pair of memorable playoff series in 2006 and 2007 but the two franchises have zoomed in opposite directions recently; the Cavaliers remade a substantial portion of their roster—capped off with the acquisition of All-Star guard Mo Williams—while the Pistons fired their coach, traded away All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups, fought through injury and chemistry issues and limped into the postseason with a 39-43 record, including a 12-19 mark since the All-Star break.

 

No one inside or outside of the Detroit locker room seriously thinks that the Pistons can beat the Cavaliers in this first round series. Truthfully, the most interesting thing about this matchup is whether or not the Cavaliers will be focused enough to sweep their overmatched opponent or if they will permit the Pistons to win a game in Detroit and prolong the series to five games. However, while it is fine for outsiders to say such things, overconfidence can be a dangerous thing in the locker room and the Cavaliers would certainly be wise not to “skip steps” either in their preparation or in the way that they play during this series.

 

That said, it is difficult to come up with objective factors favoring the Pistons in this matchup, which is a marked contrast to the situation when these teams faced each other in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2006. At that time, the Pistons owned the best record in the league (64-18) and had just made back to back appearances in the NBA Finals, winning a championship in 2004. The Cavs had just qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the LeBron James era and they earned the right to play Detroit by beating the Wizards in six games in the first round. Most people did not give the Cavs much of a chance versus Detroit but after falling behind 2-0 the Cavs took a 3-2 lead in the series before squandering an excellent opportunity to win game six at home. Game sevens on the road are death for most teams—young teams in particular—and the Cavs proved to be no exception, losing 79-61. Even though Detroit advanced, that series proved not only that James could carry a team in the playoffs but that Coach Mike Brown’s defense-first philosophy would pay dividends in the long run, particularly as the team gained more experience.

 

In 2007, Detroit only won three more regular season games than Cleveland but many national observers did not believe that the Cavs were quite ready for prime time; James was criticized for supposedly not having a killer instinct and Coach Brown was not accorded sufficient respect for his coaching acumen. I did not buy all of that hype and went against the “experts” by correctly predicting a Cleveland victory.

 

Even when the Pistons were at—or at least near—the height of their powers in 2006 and 2007, they did not play quite the stifling defense that the 2007 Spurs and 2008 Celtics used to contain James and thus defeat the Cavs in the playoffs; the Pistons had great trouble keeping James out of the paint and he thus shot a much better field goal percentage against them (.449 in the 2007 playoffs, .442 in the 2006 playoffs) than he did versus the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals (.356) or the Celtics in the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals (.355). Since James could go wherever he wanted to on the court versus the Pistons, he turned the ball over less frequently versus them than he did against the Spurs and Celtics, teams that sagged off of James not only to keep him out of the paint but also to disrupt his ability to pass the ball.

 

What does this trip down memory lane have to do with this year’s playoff series? The point is that even when the Pistons were a legitimate contender they never had much success guarding James—and this year’s Pistons are not nearly as good defensively (or offensively) as the 2006 and 2007 versions were, while the Cavs clearly have a much more talented and deeper roster than they did back then. The Pistons still have a fine midrange shooter (Richard Hamilton), a good wing defender (Tayshaun Prince) and their rotation of bigs—including Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell—can do some damage but overall the Pistons do not match up well with the Cavs, who won three of the four regular season meetings. Detroit’s lone victory against Cleveland came all the way back on November 19 and the since banished Allen Iverson played a prominent role, scoring 23 points on 8-16 shooting; that was during a stretch when Detroit won four out of five games–including victories over the Cavs and Lakers—by featuring Iverson and Rasheed Wallace in screen/roll actions that were very tough to defend: give Iverson space and he would jet to the hoop but give Wallace space and he would drain three pointers (3-6 from long range versus Cleveland in that game). Fortunately for the Cavs, the Pistons inexplicably abandoned the idea of using Iverson effectively, tried to turn him into a sixth man and later asked him to stay away from the team for the rest of the season. With Iverson out of the picture, young guards Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum have to shoulder heavy responsibilities, though Prince or Hamilton can also assume some playmaking duties.

 

The Cavs have been a dominant home team all season, so it would be shocking if the Pistons win game one or game two at the Q. When the series shifts to Detroit it will be very interesting to see what the Cavs’ collective attitude is: will they be happy to get a split and then try to close out the series at home or will they get a sweep that could provide some valuable rest before the second round begins? I expect the games in Detroit to be hard fought but in close contests down the stretch the deciding factor will be that LeBron James and Mo Williams handle the ball and make plays for the Cavs, while the Pistons depend on Stuckey and Bynum, both of whom tend to make poor decisions in critical moments, which is a big reason why the Pistons have blown so many leads this season.

 

I expect the Cavs to sweep Detroit but game three and possibly even game four could very well be decided by last minute or even last second plays.

Schedule for First round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs

The NBA 2009 playoff schedule is out. The Cavaliers will play their first playoff game for 2009 in Cleveland Saturday April 19 at 3pm. The game will be televised nationally on ABC and on FoxNet and FoxNet HD.

Eastern Conference

Cleveland vs. Detroit
Game 1 – Sat April 18 Detroit at Cleveland 3:00PM ABC
Game 2 – Tue April 21 Detroit at Cleveland 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 24 Cleveland at Detroit 7:00PM ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 26 Cleveland at Detroit 3:30PM ABC
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Detroit at Cleveland TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Cleveland at Detroit TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Detroit at Cleveland TBD TBD

Boston vs. Chicago
Game 1 – Sat April 18 Chicago at Boston 12:30PM ESPN
Game 2 – Mon April 20 Chicago at Boston 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 23 Boston at Chicago 8:00PM TNT
Game 4 – Sun April 26 Boston at Chicago 1:00PM ABC
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Chicago at Boston TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Boston at Chicago TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Chicago at Boston TBD TNT

Orlando vs. Philadelphia
Game 1 – Sun April 19 Philadelphia at Orlando 5:30PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 22 Philadelphia at Orlando 7:00PM NBATV
Game 3 – Fri April 24 Orlando at Philadelphia 8:00PM ESPN2
Game 4 – Sun April 26 Orlando at Philadelphia 6:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Philadelphia at Orlando TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Orlando at Philadelphia TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Philadelphia at Orlando TBD TNT

Atlanta vs. Miami
Game 1 – Sun April 19 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 22 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Sat April 25 Atlanta at Miami 6:30PM TNT
Game 4 – Mon April 27 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD

Western Conference

L.A. Lakers vs. Utah
Game 1 – Sun April 19 Utah at L.A. Lakers 3:00PM ABC
Game 2 – Tue April 21 Utah at L.A. Lakers 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 23 L.A. Lakers at Utah 10:30PM TNT
Game 4 – Sat April 25 L.A. Lakers at Utah 9:00PM ESPN
Game 5 * Mon April 27 Utah at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 L.A. Lakers at Utah TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Utah at L.A. Lakers TBD TNT

Denver vs. New Orleans
Game 1 – Sun April 19 New Orleans at Denver 10:30PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 22 New Orleans at Denver 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Sat April 25 Denver at New Orleans 1:00PM ESPN
Game 4 – Mon April 27 Denver at New Orleans TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 New Orleans at Denver TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Denver at New Orleans TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 New Orleans at Denver TBD TBD

San Antonio vs. Dallas
Game 1 – Sat April 18 Dallas at San Antonio 8:00PM ESPN
Game 2 – Mon April 20 Dallas at San Antonio 9:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 23 San Antonio at Dallas 8:30PM NBATV
Game 4 – Sat April 25 San Antonio at Dallas 4:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 San Antonio at Dallas TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD

Portland vs. Houston
Game 1 – Sat April 18 Houston at Portland 10:30PM ESPN
Game 2 – Tue April 21 Houston at Portland 10:00PM NBATV
Game 3 – Fri April 24 Portland at Houston 9:30PM ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 26 Portland at Houston 9:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Houston at Portland TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Portland at Houston TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Houston at Portland TBD TNT

Cavaliers are giving away more than $1 million in prizes

lebron_chalkThe Cavaliers are giving away $1 million in prizes on Wednesday night when they face the 76ers.

The prizes include a new Kia Soul, a mortgage payment from Quicken Loans, a ride on the Goodyear blimp, a trip to Hawaii and a 42-inch LCD TV, as well as autographed Cavs memorabilia, gift certificates, T-shirts and tickets to a variety of events.

Every fan will receive a gift bag that includes a Fathead gift card and a Cheryl&Co. gourmet cookie. At the end of the game, the team will raffle off their game-worn jerseys and shoes.

Cavaliers plan to rest players

The Cavaliers have a shot at tying the best NBA home-court record tonight when they face the struggling Philadelphia 76ers at Quicken Loans arena.

The record was set by the 1985-86 Boston Celtics (40-1) but the Cavs have bigger things planned.

“We’ve got to do what’s best for the ring,” James said. “We’ve got home-court advantage already. We’re not fighting for breaking a record anymore. We’re fighting for that ring.”

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown plans to rest James along with Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Mo Williams and Wally Szczerbiak might not play much either.

“We’re not fighting for breaking a record any more,” James said. “We’re fighting for that ring. So what Mike says goes — and I’m with Mike. If Mike wants to rest some of the big guys — myself, I’m going to sit out on Wednesday — I’m all for that because [in] the playoffs — you’ve got to be fresh.”