Mo Williams did not take part in Saturday's Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday at the University of Akron. The Cavs held him out to rest a mildly strained groin.
Watching from the bench Saturday, the starting point guard had to feel as if he was seeing his teammates in slow motion, compared to the whirlwind of the playoffs last season. Williams struggled in his first extended appearance in the postseason, shooting just 40 percent, compared to 47 percent in the regular season when he was the team's second-leading scorer. With the Cavs desperately seeking someone besides LeBron James to step up and score, it was a noticeable failing.
"Looking at that tape [of the playoffs], watching those games, the way I felt in those games . . . I felt like I was playing at a different speed than I was during the season," he said. "Just simple things. If I'm coming off a pin-down, I'm going so fast and not being able to get my feet set, I'm missing those shots I usually make because during the season, I'm taking my time. I'm in rhythm, and all of a sudden I'm just speeding through stuff. I started playing at a different speed and trying to force things, trying to do things. The game was so big, I wanted to do well.
"Having that experience, knowing that, if I'm in that situation again, I'm going to be the same person, controlling the game, playing at my tempo."
Williams said he was much more comfortable and confident coming into this training camp. Last season, he was new to the team, having been traded from Milwaukee in August. He also was coming off surgery for a sports hernia.
"I got a year under my belt," he said. "I'm more comfortable here. This actually feels like a home to me now. I'm settled in, in a lot of different ways. My confidence is at an all-time high right now. I'm more experienced. That playoff really, really helped me -- helped my game, helped me prepare this summer mentally because I know what to expect.
"Last year I enjoyed it. This year I expect it."
Williams denied the pressure of the playoffs got to him. The Cavs entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed after compiling a league-best 66-16 record in the regular season.
"I respond well to pressure," Williams said. "I always have. I always will. You cannot underestimate experience. I just had to go through it. Those guys, my teammates, 'Bron, all those guys have been there. Me, personally, I've never been in that situation. Being in that situation and being counted on so much . . . I feel like I made plays here and there, but I just didn't make enough."
Same old, same old: Once again, forward Jawad Williams finds himself fighting for a roster spot. Williams, a former St. Edward star, spent most of last season and the playoffs with the Cavs, but he is not assured a roster spot this time around.
His approach remains the same.
"I do everything day by day, go out and work as hard as I can and hope for the best," he said.
One thing is different this season. Williams married longtime girlfriend Angel Flow on July 25 in Raleigh, N.C. The two had dated since his sophomore year at North Carolina.
"I feel a lot more calm than I did last year," Williams said. "I guess getting married, that bond, gave me a stronger inner peace. Now I'll just come out here and work as hard as possible."
Cavs fashion show: Cavs players Williams, Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon, J.J. Hickson, Anthony Parker, Danny Green, Leon Powe and Darnell JacksonLeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal Fathead. Tickets start at $85, and sponsor packages are available by calling 440-442-9700 or visiting flashesofhope.org will take part in a fund-raising fashion show Thursday night at The Q. The event will benefit Flashes of Hope, a national nonprofit that changes the way children with cancer see themselves through the gift of photography. Flashes of Hope raises money for pediatric cancer research and The Children's Tumor Foundation, a medical foundation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by neurofibromatosis. Hosted by the Cavs Better Halves, the wives and girlfriends of Cavs players, coaches, management and staff, the event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and features cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, performances by the Cavalier Girls and Scream Team and a silent auction. Fathead is donating custom Fatheads (peel-n-stick vinyl wall graphics) of local pediatric cancer survivors and a
Eyenga is dunk champ: Christian Eyenga, who was the Cavs' first-round draft pick last June, made a name for himself in Spain over the weekend.
The Congo native won the Spanish (ACB) League dunk contest Saturday night. His signature moment was throwing down a slam while grabbing a small teddy bear off the rim with his mouth.
The 6-foot-5 Eyenga signed a three-year contract with DKV Joventut, Ricky Rubio's old team, in July but has an opt-out to come to the Cavs next year.
Brian Windhorst contributed to this report.
source:Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Plain Dealer
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment