Let's not be naive here. Mo Williams is a good player but he's primarily just a shooter taking advantage of all the open looks he gets playing next to LeBron. He's basically the Eastern Conference equivalent of Jason Terry -- good numbers on BAD teams as #1 or #2 option before getting dealt to a team with a player that commands double teams then, poof, their role/value changes significantly. All of a sudden people start realizing how good they are it just so happens the NBA All-Star voters are so enamored with this "winning team = multiple All-Star selections" concept that they voted Mo in at a relatively weak position (17 PPG = All-Star....really?).
Disagree. He's had almost the same statistics since the 06-07 season (although his 3pt% and FT% did increase this past season). You're underestimating the impact Williams' had on the team. The Cavs acquired an all-star caliber guard whose style of play complemented Lebron's. As a result, in 2009, the Cavs won 21 more games than they did in 2008 and 16 more than 2007. Based on your logic, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis didn't deserve to be all-stars either.
What's your point? Jordan was still the symbol of preferential treatment. He had it as good as anyone ever had it. You clearly have not watched Lebron much this year. I'd say he was easily the 2nd-best defensive player this year behind Dwight Howard. Jordan was a very good defender, but Pippen was much better and always had the tougher cover. Jordan guarded the other teams' 2nd bananas. Mo Williams does not deserve to be an all-star, period. When Mo Williams is your 2nd-best player, you should not have a shot at a title.
No, i'm not underestimating his impact at all. Cleveland's motives behind trading for Mo Williams were: (1) they wanted a shooter/scorer at the one -and- (2) they wanted that shooter/scorer to be capable of handling the rock. They already had two players that fit one of those two descriptions in West and Gibson. The problem? Gibson isn't a PG and West is best suited as a two playing off the ball. Adding Mo into the mix balanced everything out perfectly. I'm not overlooking any of that. But at the same time I also can't overlook the sheer facts that Mo was a career loser that just so happened to start winning and just so happened to have a career year once he came to Cleveland and started playing next to LeBron. He's exactly what I described: the Eastern Conference's version of Jason Terry. You're right. Well, at least for Rashard -- I can live with Allen getting the nod. But I won't bore you by venting about this again on a topic we've already beaten to death.
Yes, he was once in 1992. But heck, Wally Szczerbiak was once. Thorpe was a good player, but he wasn't what I would call a "star," just like Mo Williams.
Career year? Hardly. As I've said before, his statistics this season are comparable to his statistics from his past few seasons. He's been a consistently solid player for a few years now. IMO, the only reason he was an all-star this year and not before was b/c of the publicity he received from playing with Lebron.
You just said it yourself, other than his rookie year, the other 5 years he lost to championship teams.
This will be blasphemous, but I will take lebron over MJ. MJ was an *******, lebron doesn't seem like one. I think eventually lebron will get his skill up.
How was MJ an *******? LMAO! Eh.. personal hate for a player isn't really a good reasoning behind an opinion.
Of course it's been a career year for him. Success in basketball is two-fold. You can either put up numbers on bad teams and be a Zach Randolph type that nobody cares about or you can put up good numbers and actually contribute to a winning cause. Williams is finally doing the latter. Factor in the open looks he gets playing next to LeBron and subsequent skyrocketing of his 3-pt percentage and his best year in scoring -- it's really hard to argue otherwise. The only thing you're doing by trying to apply this consistency aspect into the conversation is you're essentially arguing Williams could have been an All-Star in the past, which to say the very least, was hardly an issue even a Bucks fan would dare bring to the table.
Wow, you REALLY haven't read much of anything about MJ, have you? *He's had documented affairs. *He had/has a SERIOUS gambling problem. *The last year the Bulls won a title, Jordan was making $33.1 million per year. Pippen was making $2.8 million. When the Bulls organization asked Jordan to take a slight pay cut to accommodate giving Pippen a little raise to keep the team together... Jordan refused. He then blamed Pippen for leaving. *He basically treated every single player in the Wizards organization like absolute garbage. But you're right... it's ridiculous to call him an *******. Can't fathom where that came from.
Wow man.....where do I start.....as far as your response to my earlier post about MJ and Lebron.....the point I'm trying to make is that Lebron doesn't have to face any one close to the physical prowess of Charles Oakley, Bill Laimbeer, John Starks, Vernon Maxwell etc.....Jordan did.... He got manhandled on a nightly basis and still did what he did. A normal foul during his time is a flagrant 1 now. You had to be a man to play back then...not just a man child who gets everything handed to him from day one. We've basically been told that Lebron is great since his freshman year....no one knew that MJ would be who he ended up being. He willed himself into the GOAT. As far as your statement that MJ was getting paid 33 mil a year....the Bulls paid him 30 mil in in 96 and 33 mil in 07 to make up for the money that he wouldn't take all of the previous years (his highest contract before those 2 years was a little under 4 mil) because he wanted his teammates to get paid. He felt that he made enough from Nike and his endorsement deals. Yeah, what a A-hole right On a side note....not everyone has to "read" up on the earlier guys or "youtube" them.....a lot of us actually watched these guys play and appreciate what greatness really is.
Speaking of: "Wow man.....where do I start"... To call this over-the-top hyperbole would be a massive understatement. Complete, total and utter nonsense. Your hatred of LeBron either has you making up stuff out of thin air you have no idea about (likely) or your mind embellishes memories to a ridiculous extent. What would poor LeBron do against the physicality of John Starks and Vernon Maxwell besides go around them (or through them) like they weren't even on the floor. They wouldn't know what to do with him. And "a normal foul during [MJ's] time is a flagrant 1 now"? Sorry, but that is an idiotic statement. I doubt anyone here loved MJ more than I did back then, but after his first couple of championships, even the worst Bulls homers admitted there were "Jordan Rules". Could have said a lot more.
