Mo Williams: The most over-looked player in the NBA Playoffs

on 04 20, 2009

With all the talk surrounding the Playoffs lately, I feel it’s important to point out an injustice being done to one of the more influential players on arguably the best team in the league. That team is the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that player is Mo Williams.

I realize it’s very easy to be taken in by the Cavalier’s true star, LeBron James, but I think it’s ridiculous that nobody is mentioning Mo Williams with the Cav’s post-season starting in just a few days. Yes LeBron is having an MVP season (28.4 ppg, 7.2 apg, 7.6 rpg), but the Cavaliers would not be where they are without the play of their All-Star point guard Mo Williams.

Mo Williams is averaging 17.8 points and 4.1 assists per game in his 81 games played this season. He has been a huge part of the Cav’s success thus far this season, leading an offense that averaged over one-hundred points per game as well as a +8.92 points differential (tops in the NBA). LeBron has no doubt become a better player in 2009 compared to years past, but I think it’s only fair to attribute some of that to the help he got when the Cavaliers acquired Mo Williams. Can some of Mo’s success this season be traced back to having LeBron at his side? Sure. Arriving in Cleveland was just what Mo needed to allow his game to be taken to another level.

Mo has shown numerous times this season that he can take a game over if needed. Williams has scored 30 or more points five times in 2009, two of those were career highs (43, 44 respectively). When the Cavs struggled to be an elite team even with LeBron, they always seemed to be missing that one guy who could shoot the ball consistently to compliment LeBron’s ability to get to the rim. They have that now and so much more in Williams. If the Cavaliers are going to win the championship that so matter consider them favorites to do, Mo Williams will surely be an immensely important factor in that.

The Cavs are no longer a one man show. Mo Williams can continue to be over-looked by casual observers, but that is only going to help himself and the Cavaliers overall, I’m sure he would have it no other way. Tune in and pay attention to Mo’s game and you’ll see that wherever the Cavalier’s go this post-season, it will be heavily influenced by the play of their 26 year old point guard out of Alabama.

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