Mo Williams expecations

[Maternal]

I am not expecting Mo to become an MVP caliber player, but what is stopping someone like Mo from becoming the next Steve Nash? Both are great shooters and mediocre to poor defenders. Mo will be playing in an uptempo offense for the first time. Mo seems to have a high enough basketball IQ, maybe he spent his summer watching film of Nash?

LOL. I'll tell you what's stopping him, it's called talent. Nash is a better shooter, and although a poor defender, he's smarter than Mo on both ends of the floor. I doubt Mo spent time watching Nash, but I once spent time in the summer watching Jordan. Didn't really work out for me.

And to the person that said he'll put up 25ppg, go do your research and see which players put up 24ppg or more last year. I'm a fan of Mo, but if he puts up big numbers per game, it usually means the team he's playing for is really poor. So he'll most likely put up big numbers. Who else do the Cavs have to score? But to say he'll put up 25ppg and even mention him with Nash, is a joke and disrespect to the NBA and Nash. Stop it!

[Rise Against]

And let's not discount the fact that Mo is too streaky of a shooter to put up 20 PPG. If he were to do such a thing, he would need to average over 20 FG attempts a game. While Mo may have more responsibilities on offense, let's not forget that he is also now the main facilitator.. Not to mention, Jamison and Hickson are most likely to be double digit scorers for the Cavs.

[gflem]

18 pts or so with about 6 assists. I think that is his ceiling even on a rebuilding team, and that is if he stays healthy. I dont know if he can take the pounding of being the main guy on a team. I like Mo, but hope he can be moved for a decent package of a young player and pick(s) at the deadline.

[heathmalc]

I don't see Mo turning into a Nash type play-maker, but Mo is a better shooter than Nash. As for IQ (basketball related), some of you may recall that Nash was considered to have a relatively mediocre basketball IQ while he was in Dallas. All the media members and Dallas fans blamed Nash's inability to make the most of Dirk's talent as the reason why Dallas couldn't get any further than the WCF. Sound familiar?

Mo was a young kid in Milwaukee...and he did well! Miami tried to steal him by offering him his current contract. However, Milwaukee matched the deal (Mo was restricted FA), then Mo got hurt and everything was blamed on Mo... under a crappy coach, on a crap team.

Who knows...Mo may blow-up and start showing a real killer instinct on the offensive end, under Byron's system... or he may be the same old Mo. But let's not sell him short just because LeBron isn't on the Cavs anymore. Mo is a lot better than most people give him credit for.

Personally, I think that Cavs' fans, NBA fans (in general), and especially the media, are all underestimating the Cavaliers. I think a LOT of people are going to be very surprised.

[Maternal]

I don't see Mo turning into a Nash type play-maker, but Mo is a better shooter than Nash. As for IQ (basketball related), some of you may recall that Nash was considered to have a relatively mediocre basketball IQ while he was in Dallas. All the media members and Dallas fans blamed Nash's inability to make the most of Dirk's talent as the reason why Dallas couldn't get any further than the WCF. Sound familiar?

Mo was a young kid in Milwaukee...and he did well! Miami tried to steal him by offering him his current contract. However, Milwaukee matched the deal (Mo was restricted FA), then Mo got hurt and everything was blamed on Mo... under a crappy coach, on a crap team.

Who knows...Mo may blow-up and start showing a real killer instinct on the offensive end, under Byron's system... or he may be the same old Mo. But let's not sell him short just because LeBron isn't on the Cavs anymore. Mo is a lot better than most people give him credit for.

Personally, I think that Cavs' fans, NBA fans (in general), and especially the media, are all underestimating the Cavaliers. I think a LOT of people are going to be very surprised.

Mo is NOT a better shooter. Nash has one of the best shooting percentage from the field, behind the arc, and FT line in NBA history. And his bball IQ was never questioned. Infact that's his strenght. They simply tried to use him as a scapegoat in Dallas. Since he left Dallas they haven't done much except for one finals appearance. Mo will do well this year.

[mcfly1204]

I don't see Mo turning into a Nash type play-maker, but Mo is a better shooter than Nash. As for IQ (basketball related), some of you may recall that Nash was considered to have a relatively mediocre basketball IQ while he was in Dallas. All the media members and Dallas fans blamed Nash's inability to make the most of Dirk's talent as the reason why Dallas couldn't get any further than the WCF. Sound familiar?

Mo was a young kid in Milwaukee...and he did well! Miami tried to steal him by offering him his current contract. However, Milwaukee matched the deal (Mo was restricted FA), then Mo got hurt and everything was blamed on Mo... under a crappy coach, on a crap team.

Who knows...Mo may blow-up and start showing a real killer instinct on the offensive end, under Byron's system... or he may be the same old Mo. But let's not sell him short just because LeBron isn't on the Cavs anymore. Mo is a lot better than most people give him credit for.

Personally, I think that Cavs' fans, NBA fans (in general), and especially the media, are all underestimating the Cavaliers. I think a LOT of people are going to be very surprised.

Mo is NOT a better shooter. Nash has one of the best shooting percentage from the field, behind the arc, and FT line in NBA history. And his bball IQ was never questioned. Infact that's his strenght. They simply tried to use him as a scapegoat in Dallas. Since he left Dallas they haven't done much except for one finals appearance. Mo will do well this year.

I agree that Nash is a better shooter. My original intentions were not to compare Mo to Nash necessarily, but moreso to compare their scenarios. I will be honest and say that I was not familiar with Nash in Dallas, but when he went to Phoenix he obviously found his niche. This season will be the first time that Mo has played in an uptempo offense, Mo can play the role of a distributor, and with Scott now at the helm, I think a lot more will be expected out of Mo. Will Mo start putting up double doubles? Doubtful. Could Mo put up 20/7 next season? Possibly.

To put this into perspective, there were 8 players last season that averaged 7 or more assists a game. There were 16 players that averaged 20 or more points per game last season. If Mo manages to do both, I would say he is legitimate All-Star talent and would be worth something to a contending team looking to upgrade at PG.

[old skool]

I don't think that Mo will fare well in an up tempo system. He spends too much time pounding the ball on the perimeter while the shot clock runs down. The uptempo game requires crisp passes from everybody but the PG and Mo is a SG in a PG body. Without a legit PG to run the offense, Mo will falter.

The only things that make him a good player for an up tempo system is his ability to hit quick pull up jumpers and his superior rebounding of long misses.

oLd sKool

[babyjax13]

I am surprised you all are talking more about Mo Williams than Hickson. I think Mo can average right around 18 and 6, but I would be expecting 22/7. Hickson on the other hand could be an 18/9 guy for you next year (averaged 19/9 in 24 games where he played 24 minutes or more).

[Baseline Runner]

Mo is nowhere near the playmaker that Nash is. He is almost equal to Nash in shooting (which is saying a lot) but he is streakier. The one thing he is superior to Nash is his ballhandling. Nash's handles are suspect at times but Mo almost never turns the ball over due to his handles.

I really think Mo is one of the most underrated players in the league. He was just a young PG who was playing second fiddle to Redd in Milwaukee and in Cleveland Le-iso dominated the offense and at times was relegated to a Steve Kerr-like role. He is entering his prime with a lot of experience and he should be very effective. I don't see any reason why we would trade him. The way I see it the Cavs are doing a quick rebuild, i.e. they have a 1-2 year plan to get back to competitiveness. Mo is a big part of that.

[Baseline Runner]

I don't think that Mo will fare well in an up tempo system. He spends too much time pounding the ball on the perimeter while the shot clock runs down.

I think you are confusing Lebron with Mo. Mo is one of the quickest shooters in the league and rarely pounds the ball. When he gets the ball he usually just fires if he thinks he has a shot and if not he passes it or drives to the bucket. After Lebron was done pounding the ball on every possession there wasn't much time left on the shot clock anyways.

[mcfly1204]

I don't think that Mo will fare well in an up tempo system. He spends too much time pounding the ball on the perimeter while the shot clock runs down.

I think you are confusing Lebron with Mo. Mo is one of the quickest shooters in the league and rarely pounds the ball. When he gets the ball he usually just fires if he thinks he has a shot and if not he passes it or drives to the bucket. After Lebron was done pounding the ball on every possession there wasn't much time left on the shot clock anyways.

One person I will compare Mo to is Mark Price. I think that is the type of layer Mo will end up being more like. I think their transition games are very similar, and that you will get to see more of Mo's playmaking abilities with the new offensive system.