Who Have Been The Biggest X-Factors For The Cleveland Cavaliers In The Playoffs?

Deron Williams

Deron Williams looks like he has some spring in his legs and confidence in his jump shot. That’s a promising sign for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only do they need more firepower on their bench but they need their best playmaker on the bench to be able to create for himself and others consistently.

Williams, who has 6,819 career assists, has always been able to set up shots for others. However, now when he plays with the second unit they look more comfortable on the floor together,, an effect of spending more time with them on and off the court.

What’s been the biggest difference in his play between the regular season and the postseason is his ability to create for himself and finish. As Williams will tell you, it all started with his game against the Miami Heat at the end of the regular season. In his third start for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Williams went 14-25 from the field and 5-9 from three-point range in 46 minutes of play. He would finish the game with 34 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds.

Ever since that game, as LeBron James said, he’s had that right-to-left crossover dribble going and when he stops and pops for a jump shot or decides to take it all the way to the rim, the shot falls.

Williams averaged 8.3 points and 1.5 assists per game against the Indiana Pacers in Round 1. He shot 76.9 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from three-point range. He averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from three-point range in the regular season.

They made need him to do more facilitating in future rounds. However, the fact that he can add to his playmaking ability by being a super-efficient and confident scorer is great for the Cleveland Cavaliers and it has stood out in the playoffs.