5/26/09

Mo Better Be Right

Mo Williams recently guaranteed that the Cavaliers will advance past the Orlando Magic and into the NBA Finals. And the boys here at The Cleveland Sports Flow seem to disagree on a few things.

Ryan O'Ryan says:

He better be right.

Surely he didn't have a copy of his own stat sheet in his hand when he made that bold prediction. To put it nicely, Mo has struggled in this series. He's never really looked comfortable on the floor and he still seems to be looking for any kind of groove on offense. That doesn't seem like a justification to guarantee victory.

Mo is becoming the same kind of "villain" that Cleveland fans have loved to hate for years. He is even starting to sound reminiscent of an over-confident Rasheed Wallace with one of his many "Guran-Sheeds". Wallace guaranteed that the Cavs couldn't defeat the Pistons in 2007 on their way to making their first and only Finals appearance. During a post game interview after being eliminated in Game 6, Wallace proclaimed that the Cavs infact did not beat the Pistons but rather they beat themselves. Is this what we can expect to hear from Mo Williams if the Cavs are to be eliminated by the Orlando Magic?

Mo should have known better than to even put himself and his teammates in this position. He should know that nothing...and I mean NOTHING is ever guaranteed in Cleveland. It's the end of May and I can't even guarantee that there won't be a foot of snow on the ground tomorrow in Cleveland. Maybe that's a little far-fetched but you get my point. It's okay to be confident in yourself and your teammates, but don't allow it to come across as arrogance. That's when it comes back to bite you on the you-know-what.

There is one unwritten rule in professional sports that all players should follow: Never give your opponent an added incentive or "bulletin board material". That's what Rasheed Wallace did in 2007 and a young, inexperienced Cavs team shot the lights out and shot their way to the NBA Finals.

Sounds familiar, right?

The only difference now is that this Orlando team isn't young and it isn't inexperienced. If the Cavaliers aren't careful, they could find themselves looking for a place to put the blame, just like Rasheed Wallace in 2007.

Ben Jamin says:

I have never been a fan of the “GUARANTEE” it’s pompous, arrogant, and show’s no form of class. Just look at the people who are usually spiting the words out of they’re mouths. It’s usually loud mouths or players that don’t have the athletic ability to back it up.

Take for instance Rasheed Wallace who guaranteed a game two victory over the Pacers a few years ago, he also guaranteed a victory against the Cavs in 07’. Or how about the Orlando Magic? Jameer Nelson guaranteed a game five victory over the Pistons last year in the playoffs and this year the Magic’s assistant coach Patrick Ewing guaranteed a victory for Orlando in game seven against Boston. J.R. Smith just guaranteed the Nuggets would be in the Championship.

Of the five people mentioned, how many of them are going to win a game by them selves? NONE!

My point is that this is a typical statement, made by a player who can’t individually back it up. Just look at Williams stats against Orlando in this series, 18 – 56 from the field, that’s 31.1%. I average better than that in a church league played on a carpet court. But……..yes I said but, Mo has a right to think the Cavs will win this series.

Does the best record in the league mean anything? How about the fact that the Cavs have only lost 3 games at home all year? Oh, and btw, he has LeBron James standing next to him to bail him out. Come on you know LeBron James, he is the league MVP, you know, the best player in the league.

What did you want Mo to say?

“We could be done, I think Orlando will beat us in seven games”?

I don’t think so, and confidence shouldn’t be confused with arrogance!

Plus it's not like Mo was talking about Dwight Howard's mom.


(Photo courtesy of Tracy Boulian / The Plain Dealer)

4 comments:

  1. Question: Does the best record in the league mean anything?

    Answer: No. The playoffs are a new season. Everybody starts 0-0. Ask Dallas if having the best record mattered when they lost to Golden State a few years ago.

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  2. So your telling me that having the best record doesn't mean the Cavs are the best team until they get beat? Your telling me that they shouldn't have enough confidence to think they can beat any team in the NBA in a seven game series? I beg to differ.

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  3. Having the best record in the regular season only means one thing...home court throughout the playoffs. It doesn't make you "the best team" in the playoffs, because everything changes in the playoffs. It's all about which team can get hot and stay hot. The Cavs didn't play for 18 total days this post season, which isn't much time to get hot and built momentum. That's not an excuse for how they are playing, but they are not the best team in the playoffs. They might be the worst team in the playoffs heading into tonight's game. Hopefully that will change soon.

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