August 14, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious
Danny Ferry finally made a bold move. Sure there have been other Cleveland Cavalier trades to surround King James with more role players and more defensive stoppers, but never something like this. Ever since the final days of Andre Miller in the Cavs old uniforms Cleveland has been struggling to find a legitimate starting point guard. Could this week’s three team trade between Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee that is bringing point guard Mo Williams to play alongside Lebron be the final piece of the puzzle needed to allow King James to start leaving his championship mark on the NBA?
Personally I think it is a great move, as Mo Williams is considered to be more of a scoring point guard and the Cavaliers are notorious in big games for being unable to put the ball in the hoop (besides Lebron of course). The skeptics will most likely question Mo Williams game for his shot selection which has been the main knock on Williams in the past. However, those same skeptics will turn around and praise Mo for being able to ‘create his own shot’. Sure I understand it is important to be aware of the game situation and pick your spots on the floor. But sometimes to be a successful scorer you need to have boat loads of confidence and no conscience when it comes to firing up the rock. Mo brings that to Cleveland. But the added bonus is, he can pass too. Last season Mo Williams had career numbers with 6.3 assists to go along with his 17.2 points per game.
Williams is also extremely quick bringing the ball up the floor which is important for this often stagnant Cleveland offense. Mike Brown is a defensive coach and it shows. For the past two years come playoff time the Cavaliers offense is seemingly 95% half court sets. They grind it out on defense, then bring the ball up slowly and give it to Lebron hoping he will score. That is what makes King James big scoring numbers in the playoffs so remarkable, it’s the fact that he does it in mostly half court sets where the opposing defense has plenty of time to set up and double/triple team him, essentially daring someone else on the Cavaliers squad to score.
Does Mo Williams weaken the Cavaliers defense? Well sure i’ll give you that, Mo is not known for his ‘D’. But he is a more adequate on the ball defender due to his speed and athletic ability than most people give him credit for. But hey Mike Brown, before you fly off the handle about his defense you have to consider the overall balance of your teams attack. Often critics these days attribute the Celtic championship victory to defense. After all “defense wins championships” right? Well yes and no. The Celtics were great this year not only due to their overall commitment to defense, but also because they were loaded with scoring punch. Don’t forget almost every player on the Celtics starting line-up is a proven scorer. Sure the greater your defense is the better, but at some point to win come playoff time your team will have to be able to score. Sooner or later you will run into a team that is equally good defensively, and it will come down to who can put the ball in the basket in crunch time. (Please see NBA Playoffs 2008: Cleveland vs. Boston, Game 7)
I also like the trade for the Bucks as they had to unload salary due to their off-season trade for all-star swingman Richard Jefferson, and the financial flexibility needed for signing Andrew Bogut. Milwaukee really covered their bases as the trade brought in a very adequate, Skiles style ‘pass first point guard’, in Luke Ridnour from Oklahoma City. Oklahoma clearly wanted to add some athleticism at the SF spot with Desmond Mason, but they also receive veteran Power Forward/Center Joe Smith to give them some leadership on and off the floor. Oklahoma’s roster is very young and talented and Joe Smith should be a steadying presence throughout the season.
Well I guess we will all just have to wait and see how this pans out. But, of all the off-season moves, I think the addition of Mo Williams to the ‘King’s Men’ may end up being the most underrated, but ultimately the most productive move of any team thus far.
Good job, Danny!
