Cleveland Cavaliers: A guide to coming back from a 3-1 deficit
By Zac Robin
If only D-Will…
Deron Williams has had an atrocious series statistically, shooting 0% and scoring 0 points through the first 3 games. His minutes were reduced in game 3, and if he had missed any more shots in game 4, I would have been screaming at Coach Ty Lue on my TV.
However, he came thru with a couple buckets in relief of Irving in the game 4 win, so we can cut Coach Lue a break. But come on, how could this playing time favoritism not be due to an over-the-hill backup point guard bromance? We know you’ve been in his shoes, Coach! Reference his stats from the 2001 finals from his own backup point guard days. So, Lue knows exactly where Wiliams is at and trusted him to snap out of it.
Cleveland Cavaliers
… Was D-Will
Maybe a stretch this late, but what if the Cavalier’s replace Deron Williams the aging backup point guard, with Derrick Williams the age ripe versatile forward? My brain tells me that this could be the best solution – not saying it’s perfect – for a makeshift Durant-stopper. My colleague at KJG seems to agree in theory!
Derrick Williams is known as a versatile 2-way player, who is one of those “tweener” forwards who is too little for the 4 position and not quite skilled enough for the 3 position. That is precisely the physical description of someone you want to be designated for the defensive assignment of guarding Durant. Williams would have a little offensive responsibility, but given the stakes of the situation, it does help that he is an above-average 3 point shooter and capable scorer.
Williams has a 7-foot 1-inch wingspan, which appears to be best on the team after Channing Frye and Edy Tavares. Tavares is the 7’3″ D-league DPOY with about an 8-foot wingspan who broke his hand in practice, unfortunately. And Frye is a solid stretch-big, but not an elite defender. Frye received a DNP last night, so like last year’s finals, don’t expect him in the rotation the rest of the way either. Lue elected instead to give Shumpert and Deron Williams a chance to get going some more in the end.