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LeBron's silence just what Mo needed to hear
Written by Brendan Bowers   
Sunday, 15 November 2009 17:41

Before the Orlando Magic game, LeBron James said that he wasn't going to answer free agent questions anymore.  He said, "I think I owe it to myself, and I owe it to my teammates...I'm focusing on this season, and this is going to be a really good season for us."

Maybe he was speaking indirectly to one teammate specifically.

Mo Williams came into the Magic game averaging 15.7 points per game through the first seven games.  To that point, he looked a lot like the player he was during the post season last year.  Pressing, trying to do to much.  He hadn't looked like the player he was during the regular season last year.  The player that helped elevate the Cavaliers from a team that had been perennially good, to a team that won a league best 66 games a season ago.

Then LeBron publically directed his focus towards this season.  One that he still believed, even at 4-3, would be a really good season for his Cavaliers.  Mo Williams answered with 20 first half point against Orlando, and finished with 28, en-route to a big road win  they needed to have.

In the three games since LeBron made those remarks - Orlando, Miami, Utah - Mo Williams has averaged 24.6 points per game.  The Cavaliers have gone 3-0 since as a team, upped their record to 7-3,  and won by an average of 7 points per game (107-100), versus an average margin of 4 (94-90) through the first seven. 

Maybe you can say that Mo Williams just got hot and one has nothing to do with the other.  But pro athlete or not, Mo Williams is human first.  He knows what's at stake this season.  He knows he let LeBron, and the Cavaliers down a bit in the post season a year ago.  He knows how critical he is to the Cavaliers success.  He knows he doesn't want to be a reason the Cavaliers fall short again.  He probably doesn't want to be a reason LeBron leaves either.  I'm sure he just wants to be the All Star PG he is.  A player LeBron would want to stay and play with.  And now that LeBron's done talking about it, maybe Mo can stop thinking about it too.  And maybe that's just what he needed.


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Comments (4)Add Comment
...
written by San Dova, November 15, 2009
I can't say whether Maurice was shakened up positively by LeSwoosh's personal mandate about not taking about his free agency, but I know that Mo just needed more encouragement in general. One of the worst things about the Cavaliers is that LeBron never shut out the talk earlier. He's not very sensitive to how people feel about his options. One of the biggest problems with Maurice was that people tried to make him seem like he was an primary All-Star candidate when he wasn't. He got overconfident and he paid for it a little bit...but no one really came to his defense in how he played either (having 6'6" and 6'7" guys covering you all the time in a series is going to cause major productivity problems). If anything, he's playing like he knows he can and should. Hopefully LeAirMax has encouraged him, because James' teammates can better come to his aid when necessary.
@ San Dova
written by Stepien Rules, November 16, 2009
Appreciate you stopping by...well said. I would say though that I agree with the fact that LeBron is actually not very sensitive to how people feel about his options, and by James making the comments he made, it may have been in part, the encouragement that Mo needed to relax. Coupled with Mo's play since, seemingly snapping out of a 12-19 game funk, it may have had an impact...but like you said in the open, you never know for sure...hopefully he does play like a primary All-Star candidate the rest of the way out, because when he is locked in, he is one. Later
...
written by San Dova, November 16, 2009
Yeah, I think LeBron actually does mean well. He's pretty much well-liked, he's a guy's guy and he has all-world skill and class...but like a king, he can be a bit farsighted. Sometimes, he doesn't see what's vital to his teammates' morale, and they are the closest people to him in physical proximity. If there's ever a time for LeBron to make sure he wins a championship, it's now, and he can do that by simply making sure his people are on one accord. I don't know if he hold players' meetings, but he doesn't, he'd be wise to lead some. He's gotta make Mo feel like he can do anything because that's what the great ones do. Even Kobe, for all he's chastized for being, has learned to empower his teammates in the past few years. You think Trevor Ariza was able to do all that he did last year with Kobe giving him constant good words? Sasha two years ago? Jordan Farmar in the same time? L. Ramone James has to do that.
@ San Dova
written by StepienRules, November 16, 2009
I agree that he has to get his teammates on one accord, and I think, while he might have been (7) games late, he did take steps to do that prior to the Orlando game. Mo Williams's performance, as well as the overall team's, was impacted to some degree by LeBron's comments or lack there of, positively.

To your other point, LeBron certainly does have to continue to empower his teammates, but I do think that this is a skill LeBron has displayed throughout his career. I think he did it with Daniel Gibson, and is currently doing it with JJ Hickson. The step he may need to take though, is to move forward with that, and not only empower the younger, less experienced players, but even the Mo Williams' of the world who he may not have previously thought needed his help, advice, or empowerment.

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About Stepien Rules

Ted Stepien was the owner of the Cavaliers from 1980 to 1983. In 1982, the New York Times wrote an article calling Stepien's Cavaliers the "worst club, and most poorly run franchise in professional basketball."  During his tenure as Cavaliers owner, the Cavaliers went 66-180, had five different head coaches, and losses of $15 million.  Click Here to Read More...

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