by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Mo Williams’ dunk over Paul Pierce in the latter stages of Game 1 was credited with being the key play in the Cavs/Celtics series opener. Last night, Williams resumed his all-too-familiar role as Playoff goat, as Boston convincingly tied the series, with Mo and his teammates barely putting up a fight.
Following the 19-point crushing on their own home floor, a fuming Mike Brown tried his best to light a fire under his guys by taking them to task through the media. Taking a page out of Doc Rivers’ book — who strategy with Rasheed Wallace worked wonderfully, by the way — Brown put Mo Williams’ performance on blast.
FanHouse and the Akron Beacon Journal collected the quotes:
This was greatly out of character for Brown, who rarely criticizes players and rarely calls out his team. This night he swore — and challenged Mo Williams, who was a woeful 1 for 9 and was more woeful on defense trying to keep up with Rajon Rondo (19 assists) and Ray Allen (22 points, 8 of 15).
“He’s got to step up,” Brown said. “It’s as simple as that. It’s playoff time. He’s got to step up and make the right plays for us and he’s got to knock down shots. It’s going to be tough for us to win a series if Mo plays the way he did tonight. Whether it’s defensively or offensively, he’s got to bring it … just like the rest of us.”
”It’s going to be tough for us to win a series the way Mo played tonight,” Brown said.
Through the first two games of the series, Rajon Rondo has been the best player on the floor, further putting the pressure on his counter part to perform at a higher level.
Game 3 takes place in Boston on Friday night, and though most eyes will continue to train on LeBron James, Mo Williams will need to answer his coach’s call if the Cavs hope to regain the momentum.
