Windy Sunday Blowout

More Windy

Cleveland Cavaliers' Mo Williams finds reason to be optimistic after a challenging opening week / Brian Windhorst

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Usually the point guard position is quite cerebral, and the player in that spot is encouraged to be as analytical as possible. But last week Mo Williams learned there is a saturation point with that stuff as well.

As the Cavs struggled through opening losses to the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, there was perhaps no player more frustrated than Williams. He was completely mixed up trying to run the offense; uncomfortable and unsure of where he was supposed to be, where his teammates were supposed to be and where the ball needed to go.

In those games, Williams made just seven of 22 shots and had as many turnovers as assists while often looking sluggish and confused on the floor and in the huddles.

"I'm just thinking too much and I'm like, the worst at it, because I have to get everybody in their spots and I'm like, 'oh, I have a shot,' but I'm not even looking for it," Williams said while sitting in the locker room after the Cavs lost to Toronto last Wednesday.

"I'm just thinking too much. I'm not reacting and that isn't what you want to be doing." There were other things that improved as the Cavs finished the season's first week with victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Bobcats. But nothing personified exactly what the team is going through more than Williams, whose comfort and reaction level has steadily increased.

After giving himself a pep talk following the frustration in Toronto, Williams started playing more on feel and aggression. It resulted in two strong games that helped the Cavs right the ship. In the two victories, he made 15 of 29 shots and averaged 22 points. That included his 24 points in the victory over the Bobcats on Saturday.

Working with LeBron James, the two went back to their roots from last season when they would often operate in an unscripted two-man game, slipping into floor space created by the other's movements. James assisted on three of Williams' five 3-pointers against the Bobcats, a night after they each scored more than 20 points setting each other up against the Wolves.

"We've played a lot of games together now," Williams said. "We're getting better and better and acclimated and we can read each other. We can do things without talking, it is a bond. You can't explain things like that, you just have to play together and have confidence in each other."

That bond and Williams' personal creativity might have to carry the team offensively for a while. The Cavs are still struggling with how to effectively play with Shaquille O'Neal, where the pressure often falls to Williams and James to set up the offense and get O'Neal the ball in the right positions.

There are signs of progress. O'Neal had his most effective game Saturday, but still had just eight points. The Cavs aren't expecting him to be a dominant scorer, but the fact that he's shooting just 45 percent from the field indicates he's not as effective as he could be.

"We're getting more familiar playing off each other," Williams said. "It was harder for me being the point guard and having to make the right decisions. I haven't had to worry about and orchestrate as much over the last couple games. It makes a big difference when everyone is comfortable with the play on command and we're getting closer. It is a process."

Click to expand...

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/11/cleveland_cavaliers_mo_william_2.html

I have no problem with any questions raised or possible criticism that Windhorst or Finnan ever write. They've both proven to be quality writers along with both being very friendly to this site.

Shaq isn't what he was and there is an adjustment for him and for the team because of him. It's also not like the Cavs came out hitting on all cylinders to start the season.

I prefer some analysis and objectivity rather than the rainbows and puppy dogs view that comes from McLeod and Carr and all Cavs programming on Fox Sports Ohio.

Against certain opponents, giving Shaq touches is strategically advantageous, not selfish.

Like AC said against the Bobcats, "Shaq vs. Chandler 1-on-1? I'd milk that all day." Exactly. Until teams start doubling (at which point Shaq would pass it out), I don't see why we don't just keep feeding him the ball. Especially early in the game when he's fresh.

It's just smart strategy. But nooo, let's have him run up and down the court until he gets tired and then gets subbed out. If he's a defensive liability, then make him get some buckets on offense!

Reason I hate Mike Brown # 60349834012312.

We don't reaaaally have that much riding on the Shaq experiment, like Finnan. We didn't give up anything to get him, and if he fails, he's a huge expiring contract that we can either deal or let expire to sign a diffrent player in the offseason. And we've still got Z. so it's not like we really have anything riding on the Shaq experiment. It's the least risky move of Ferry's tenure probably.

futuristxen said:

We don't reaaaally have that much riding on the Shaq experiment, like Finnan. We didn't give up anything to get him, and if he fails, he's a huge expiring contract that we can either deal or let expire to sign a diffrent player in the offseason. And we've still got Z. so it's not like we really have anything riding on the Shaq experiment. It's the least risky move of Ferry's tenure probably.

Click to expand...

Even if Shaq expires, we arent under the cap to sign anyone

Brian Windhorst and Bob Finnan have always been very honest with their opinions and very insightful when it comes to learning about the Cavs. This is something fans view as pessimistic, but the reality becomes is that they see things for what they are. Some may not appreciate that and panic because of it, but you'll know that it wasn't just Mike Brown doing this, LeBron holding the ball, or Shaq being a slow poke on the floor that can't defend jumpers. It was something that turned out to have multiple situations and circumstances involved.

Right now, because of the early season goings, many are hoping to compete for the highest seed possible without any bad things going on. Brian was well aware of the amount of high level teams that are in the league, and simply said that you have to be clicking on all cylinders to actually get the seed like we did last year.

The problem was: Mike Brown and the coaching staff did not prepare the team to have the dominance of your typical mid-60s winning franchise that steamrolls to the championship. He did not prepare like Doc did in 2007, like Phil did in 2008 and many other years, like other special coaches did for dominant years.

Would that hurt us? It's hard to say. I'm sure that Windy and Bob are aware that Mike Brown is directly a systematic follower breeded from the San Antonio system, where they aren't concerned about full dominance as much as getting aware and clicking as the season continues. This might not have been an issue for the Spurs, when their main competition was also not super dominant, but it's hard to say if this mindset will work when Boston, Orlando, L.A., and San Antonio could potentially go strong this year as well. On the other hand, the imperfections from those squads could hit them hard later on and give us the same chance to have a high seed.

It's a tough balance, but I bet if we take the time to get familiar this month, we'll look the way the media, the fans, and everyone expected us to look when we first traded for Shaq. The potential is there as you've seen, but you know it's not at that level yet. One thing I know that will pay off is involving Shaq in the post early on. I know he'll get his 3 touches each game in the first couple of plays. Z got them when the system called for it, so Shaq should make it easy and will get more comfortable with it in time. In fact, I expect super production since he is built to post players up. And I bet the game against the Magic will look very different than the game against the Celtics. The Cavs didn't suddenly fall off the Earth, but last year was almost an exception to how a Spurs-minded coach would take a team through a whole season. So I can understand the drop-off now.

The other weaker teams had lesser abilities and mindsets, so 50 wins is understandable, but with the better quality, I expect something close to 60, maybe even above it. It's up to the players and coaches to go through the season and build on it. And I expect the two main beat writers to elaborate on what's developing as the weeks go on. Brian will always be high quality, but try not to be too down on what Bob says. He may not be at the level that Windy's at, but his writing is still much better than the other beat writers we've had for a while and over the years, it still offers insight regardless.