Mo Williams Status

[Boob-No-More]

Anyone know when Mo is coming back. Will he be in uniform tonight or tomorrow?

I know some posters hate on him, but he really is our only legitimate scoring threat off the bench. In our last two games against the Thunder and Clippers he's averaged 12.5 ppg and 8.5 apg. We could really use that kind of spark off the bench for these last two games prior to the All-Star break.

BNM

 

[Shooter]

Why has he been out? I heard "personal reasons," but nothing more specific.

 

[Natebishop3]

Why has he been out? I heard "personal reasons," but nothing more specific.

His sister is ill. That's the extent of what we know. It seemed pretty serious.

 

[Shooter]

Thanks.

 

[Boob-No-More]

His sister is ill. That's the extent of what we know. It seemed pretty serious.

Yep, that's all I've been able to find. No details on when he'll be back.

BNM

 

[KingSpeed]

I believe CJ's 19 points in our last game was a season high for a bench player so Mo isn't our only guy who can score.

 

[Strenuus]

His sister is ill. That's the extent of what we know. It seemed pretty serious.

From the tweet I saw from Mo a couple days ago, seems the sister is doing fine (It wasn't said outright... but he said #everythingontheupandup). Beyond that, though, nothing.

 

[tlongII]

I believe he's waiting for an apology from NB3 before he returns to the team.

 

[Natebishop3]

I believe he's waiting for an apology from NB3 before he returns to the team.

I'll send it to him via teletype.

 

[Draco]

Chris Haynes broke the news that Mo's sister was ill and he was going to miss games. Problem was he said she died! He later corrected his tweet but that's about the worst error you can have as a reporter. Glad to hear she is doing better now. Someones health matters far more than every Blazer game combined.

Mo is a great personality and has a good temperament. I like hearing him talk and suspect he is a major part of the positive team chemistry this year. However his play on the court has been very disappointing to me this season. He has his worst PER and shooting percentages since his rookie season. I had thought in an offense featuring more talented teammates than he had in some of his past teams he'd be efficient this year.

CJ had a great game against the Twolves, even though their second unit is terrible. Minnesota is one of the very rare teams with a bench clearly inferior to ours. Still CJ was very effective and I'm excited to see more minutes from him this year. CJ also played good against a talented Pacers team. I also like Earl Watson ball movement and passing when he is running the point. He doesn't try to take chances on offense. Damian does a great job of giving up the ball early in the shot clock and giving multiple players on the floor chances to create offense. Mo has a habit of over dribbling when he is paired with other reserves.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Anyone know when Mo is coming back. Will he be in uniform tonight or tomorrow?

I know some posters hate on him, but he really is our only legitimate scoring threat off the bench. In our last two games against the Thunder and Clippers he's averaged 12.5 ppg and 8.5 apg. We could really use that kind of spark off the bench for these last two games prior to the All-Star break.

BNM

Our whole bench is better at scoring without Mo in there ruining everything.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Our whole bench is better at scoring without Mo in there ruining everything.

Really? Then how did Mo put up 9 assists in our last game against the Thunder and 8 assists in our last game against the Clippers? Or, does he only pass to the starters when he's in the game? Doesn't matter to me, if a guy coming off the bench can get 8 or 9 assists, I'll take that any day.

BNM

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Really? Then how did Mo put up 9 assists in our last game against the Thunder and 8 assists in our last game against the Clippers? Or, does he only pass to the starters when he's in the game? Doesn't matter to me, if a guy coming off the bench can get 8 or 9 assists, I'll take that any day.

BNM

It doesn't matter to me how many assists he gets. Our bench is clearly better without Mo Williams playing significant minutes.

 

[Draco]

Really? Then how did Mo put up 9 assists in our last game against the Thunder and 8 assists in our last game against the Clippers? Or, does he only pass to the starters when he's in the game? Doesn't matter to me, if a guy coming off the bench can get 8 or 9 assists, I'll take that any day.

BNM

Assists don't always tell the story of a PG. A PG can hold the ball for 20 second of the clock and only pass when it leads to an assist. Thats how Chris Paul plays, he dominates the ball and is either shooting or passing for likely assists. It gets a player huge assist numbers. If you have an elite talent at the postion like Paul you probably want him to dominate the ball. A PG like Jose Calderon or Lillard can pass in the first 8 second of the clock that leads to another pass for an assist. Those guard help a team have a balanced offense with multiple shot creators, but it hurts their assist numbers.

I have enjoyed watching the bench without Mo, I think the ball movement has been better. I think Mo could be a huge contributor but like Jamal Crawford it is a delicate balance putting him in a role that helps the team.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I believe CJ's 19 points in our last game was a season high for a bench player so Mo isn't our only guy who can score.

And 3 AST and 4 TOVs. That's an AST/TOV of 0.75. In the last game against the Thunder, Mo had 9 AST and 3 TOV. That's an AST/TOV ratio of 3.00. I know that's a microscopic sample size, but people are always bitching about Mo's TOVs. So, does C.J. get a free pass because he's a rookie? To me, Mo's 13 PTS, 9 AST, 3 TOV against OKC is much more impressive than C.J.'s 19 PTS, 3 AST, 4 TOV agaist a depleted MIN team.

BNM

 

[1honestfan]

I just saw via twitter that he is on a flight heading back to Portland. Wouldn't it be awesome if he walked out on the court tonight and played? lol

 

[Boob-No-More]

Our whole bench is better at scoring without Mo in there ruining everything.

Based on what? The MIN game? A game where we scored 117 points with MIN missing their three top scorers, which made their already awful bench even thinner? In the other game Mo missed, our bench scored a whopping 13 points in an overtime game where the team scored 113 points. Not exactly a lot of bench scoring there.

BNM

 

[KeepOnRollin]

And 3 AST and 4 TOVs. That's an AST/TOV of 0.75. In the last game against the Thunder, Mo had 9 AST and 3 TOV. That's an AST/TOV ratio of 3.00. I know that's a microscopic sample size, but people are always bitching about Mo's TOVs. So, does C.J. get a free pass because he's a rookie? To me, Mo's 13 PTS, 9 AST, 3 TOV against OKC is much more impressive than C.J.'s 19 PTS, 3 AST, 4 TOV agaist a depleted MIN team.

BNM

To answer the question, yes I think CJ gets (more) of a pass because he is a rookie. I expect rookies to get turnovers personally. And it isn't like 4 is an earth-shattering number. Batum has a lot of games with high turnover numbers.

 

[1honestfan]

Based on what? The MIN game? A game where we scored 117 points with MIN missing their three top scorers, which made their already awful bench even thinner? In the other game Mo missed, our bench scored a whopping 13 points in an overtime game where the team scored 113 points. Not exactly a lot of bench scoring there.

BNM

I don't have any stats to prove it but visually, it just looked like out on ball defense, transition defense and team defensive looked better. Granted it was against Minnesota with their big 3 out of the lineup.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Assists don't always tell the story of a PG. A PG can hold the ball for 20 second of the clock and only pass when it leads to an assist. Thats how Chris Paul plays, he dominates the ball and is either shooting or passing for likely assists. It gets a player huge assist numbers. If you have an elite talent at the postion like Paul you probably want him to dominate the ball. A PG like Jose Calderon or Lillard can pass in the first 8 second of the clock that leads to another pass for an assist. Those guard help a team have a balanced offense with multiple shot creators, but it hurts their assist numbers.

I have enjoyed watching the bench without Mo, I think the ball movement has been better. I think Mo could be a huge contributor but like Jamal Crawford it is a delicate balance putting him in a role that helps the team.

Well assists certainly do tell PART of the story. Mo's AST% of 28.3 is the highest on the team. Here's the relevant players and their AST%:

Mo Williams - AST% = 28.3
Damian Lillard - AST% = 24.9
Earl Watson - AST% = 22.5
Nicolas Batum - AST% = 21.4
C.J. McCollum - AST% = 6.9

Yeah, I wish Mo was better, but he's the best bench player we have, and I don't buy this bullshit that the bench is better without him. Wasn't he our best bench player when we started off 24-5? Fact is, love him or hate him, he's still our best bench player and I hope his sister is OK and he'll be available to play tonight and tomorrow night. We're going to need all the help we can get.

Jeez, people around here constantly bitch about our starters playing too many minutes and then hate on the one guy who gives us big minutes of the bench.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

I don't have any stats to prove it but visually, it just looked like out on ball defense, transition defense and team defensive looked better. Granted it was against Minnesota with their big 3 out of the lineup.

Seriously??? We gave up 110 points to a MIN team that was missing:

Kevin Love - 25.7 PPG
Kevin Martin - 19.0 PG
Nicola Pekovic - 18.0 PPG

We gave up a CAREER HIGH 25 points to Bricky Rubio and the night before, George Hill scorched us for a CAREER HIGH 37 points. When the opposing PG goes off for a career high two nights in a row, that's NOT good on the ball defense.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

To answer the question, yes I think CJ gets (more) of a pass because he is a rookie. I expect rookies to get turnovers personally. And it isn't like 4 is an earth-shattering number. Batum has a lot of games with high turnover numbers.

Batum gets a pass in my book because he handles the ball more and creates more scoring opportunities for his teammates. C.J. is, at this point in his career, Travis Outlaw light. He ONLY creates shots for himself (AST% = 6.9). That's not necessarily a bad thing (Nate would have loved running the Roy ISO for him), but at this point, he has more career turnovers than assists. His AST/TOV ratio is 0.77.

By comparison, Batum's AST/TOV ratio is 2.11 and Mo's is 2.33.

BNM

 

[KeepOnRollin]

Batum gets a pass in my book because he handles the ball more and creates more scoring opportunities for his teammates. C.J. is, at this point in his career, Travis Outlaw light. He ONLY creates shots for himself (AST% = 6.9). That's not necessarily a bad thing (Nate would have loved running the Roy ISO for him), but at this point, he has more career turnovers than assists. His AST/TOV ratio is 0.77.

By comparison, Batum's AST/TOV ratio is 2.11 and Mo's is 2.33.

BNM

What was Batum's and what was Mo's as a rookie thought? Probably better than CJ's but I am sure not near as good as they are currently. That is my point. One is a rookie. It takes time imo.

 

[BlazerBeav]

It doesn't matter to me how many assists he gets. Our bench is clearly better without Mo Williams playing significant minutes.

I completely disagree with you. Some nights he has provided the only production we've had off the bench.

 

[Draco]

BNM I'm not sure why you defend Mo Williams so much. The majority of posters acknowledge he has been our best bench player. He is miles better than the dreadful options last year. But that doesn't mean he is having a great year or that its a strong strength of this team. Mo is having career worst stats in many categories. He has not been a "6th starter" as some of us hoped he would be. Our other starters are all vastly superior options. It's silly for some posters to ignore his accomplishments this year but its also silly to ignore his faults.

 

[Boob-No-More]

What was Batum's and what was Mo's as a rookie thought? Probably better than CJ's but I am sure not near as good as they are currently. That is my point. One is a rookie. It takes time imo.

Batum, as a rookie had a AST/TOV ratio of 1.48, and Mo's was 1.49, not quite twice C.J.'s current 0.77. In his defense, C.J.'s role is different. They tried to play him at PG in summer league, but he's really an undersized SG. Of course, Batum's role as a rookie as to stand in the corner and shoot 3's. So, his role has changed a lot, too. But, as he has become more of a playmaker, his AST/TOV has increased due to his assist totals have going up more than his TOVs.

BNM

 

[Draco]

I think some of the Mo Williams hate is just a style of play thing. Even if he is more effective than the other players on the court some fans want to see an offense where the PG passes the ball when he comes up the court.

 

[Boob-No-More]

BNM I'm not sure why you defend Mo Williams so much.

Perhaps you missed it:

"Yeah, I wish Mo was better, but he's the best bench player we have..."

That's why I defend him. Yeah, his production is trailing off, not uncommon for a 31-year old PG that relies on his quickness. I'm not saying he's great, but he's the best bench player we have and I want him available. I'll leave it up to Stotts to decide who gets the minutes based on who is playing well, the match-ups, who's in foul trouble, etc. But, I bet if you asked Stotts, he'd say the same thing, he'd rather have Mo Williams available tonight (and tomorrow night) than not. That's why I started this thread. It wasn't meant as a Mo Williams tribute thread. I want to know if Mo is playing tonight (and tomorrow). I, for one (well, two if you count Stotts) hope he is.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

I think some of the Mo Williams hate is just a style of play thing. Even if he is more effective than the other players on the court some fans want to see an offense where the PG passes the ball when he comes up the court.

Perhaps you missed the part where I mentioned Mo Williams has the highest AST% on the team. Do those same fans want to see Damian Lillard pass the ball more? Personally, I don't. I want to see Dame attacking the paint and shooting with confidence from deep. Our offense doesn't rely on a John Stockton/Steve Nash traditional pass first PG. If fans want that, they need to follow another team, or invent time travel.

BNM

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think some of the Mo Williams hate is just a style of play thing. Even if he is more effective than the other players on the court some fans want to see an offense where the PG passes the ball when he comes up the court.

You are probably right for many fans. Personally I do value a PG that can score though. I don't even mind if our PG is our leading scorer. I like that Mo is aggressive offensively and I love his mid range shot around the free throw line, as well as his open 3's. Its' only when he forces bad passes that I cringe. "Be quick but don't hurry"...was a Wooden saying. Mo looks like he hurries. I like that he plays fast, but if he could just not hurry some of his passes it would be better IMO.