Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  78 responses

Mike Brown Wants Mo Williams to Step Up

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.

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  • http://www.nba.com/bobcats Anton

    lol are we going to get this same article for every losing team?

  • http://www.nba.com/bobcats Anton

    I think I seen Bron do one of the weirdest, highest jumping travels of all time.

  • Nate

    Wouldn’t hurt if shaq lifted his game a little bit too

  • T-Money

    About time! I think Mike Brown just realized that he won’t have a job in 2 weeks if they lose to the Celts. Seriously, if Mo can not defend Ray Allen OR Rajon Rondo then he can’t play in the 4th. Same thing with Shaq, if he’s not bringing it, give his crunch time minutes to JJ.

  • STR8FiYA18

    He’s Right, ROndo has been tearing up the Cavs’ Gaurds and williams checks him the majority of the game, The only way the Cavs will win this Series is if they can stop Rondo.

  • http://www.slamonline.com wayno

    Dude, Mo always disappears in the playoffs…what else is new?

  • http://springbored.net letsmotor

    @T-money: you just hit the nail on the head as far as one of the big problems for the cavs. mo williams will at some point have to defend either rondo or ray allen. I wouldn’t call mo a bad or below average defender, but i really don’t think he can do a good job on either of those nightmare defensive assignments.

  • Yesse

    I havent liked Celtics in a while, but they stepped up. Big thumbs up for them.

  • kobesbestfriend

    maybe if Brown had some form of an offensive scheme instead of just giving the ball to that imposter of an mvp queen james and relying on him 2 travel to the basket every play 2 get a score mo and every1 else would know their role.this is poor coaching plain and simple!celtics in 6 guaranteed!!!

  • Macgyver

    cavs have no change against magic if lebron doesn’t heal before that series..his been 1/3 of his normal playoff self and the one thing that pisses me off most is,that they don’t go to see those specialists..

  • jumpman3224

    Things look good for the Celtics. I think extra days off in the playoffs always favor the older team and with 2 extra days until game three in Boston, they are in good position to take a 2-1 lead.

  • Macgyver

    no rondo is not the problem he can score as much as he wants but lebron needs to heal and quick if they are even dreaming about beating orlando..lebron has been like 1/3 of his normal playoff self..lebron needs to be lebron or otherwise they are out..

  • Macgyver

    of course they have to contain rondo a bit but if lebron is healthy he can beat teams by himself..

  • underdog

    Man, I hope Sheed can maintain these numbers in this series. Beat the Cavs.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Michael Scorn

    He just wants Mo to hit the easy wide open shots that The King so elegantly creates by drawing the triple team. Seriously, if The King didn’t have such crappy teammates, he would average 20 assists with his 40 poins and 11 rebounds.

  • Elias

    ste-ste-ste-ste-ste-stepping up.

  • http://www.nba.com/bobcats Anton

    Scorn is The Seed to Lebron James …

  • vtrobot

    Shaq is too fat to try to lift anything. He’ll hurt himself. Cavs should give every one of Shaq’s minutes to JJ if they’d like to improve their chances of winning.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ niQ

    co-sign wayno… was going to say the same thing.

  • ENDS

    Wonder why he didnt call out LBJ for a wierd MVP game where he bobbled the ball and made some insane decissions with the rock.

    Co Sign Anton that was a funky lookin travel by the Crab Prince

  • bill breedley

    The refs give all the bullcrap free throws, allow the 2 step hop gay move and the usual bron gets called for nothing treatment… And still they lose to the celtics!!! If Dwight and the magic were treated this good they would be halfway to a threepeat. Daddy David stern can only do so much. Bron should stop the Paul pierce impression and mo Williams should find his guts instead of always being a clown for queen James.

  • bill breedley

    Before this series began everyone was saying the cavs were the deepest team. Shaquille and Jamison were the missing pieces. If lebron fails to deliver again … They go back to the same excuse. Dwight lost jameer last year and still managed to make the finals. Enough with the gay excuses. Tired of bron jockers making every excuse for the boys short comings.

  • Swizzle

    I write it here first. Lebron will be in CHICAGO. Theyre waiting on a coach LBJ Likes. A phill Jax/Chitown reunion in the works. Think about it…

  • Swizzle

    Cavs always get an obligatory LBJ 3-point play and still find a way to blow sterns gifts. there only so much medeling David can do clevland he cant put the ball in the hoop for y’all

  • riggs

    lol glad im not the only one who saw the blatant helping from the refs, and also reggie miller should be taken out back and shot “lebron avoiding the contact from pierce and not getting called” pierce hit lebron all over his back you moron.

  • bill breedley

    Exactly. This chump gets away with charges, fouls when he steals and goal tending on those “hilight blocks”‘! Thanks to David and his stooges they managed to manufacture an MVP. The queen is indeed david’s ” the chosen one”. Find another horse David, this one is not going to get it done for you

  • Th3_R3al_Chris

    Last time I saw the Celtics play like this was the ’08 Finals. KG looks amazing right now and Ray Allen has been more than consistent this playoffs. Rondo’s been phenomenal and I’m usually very hesitant to offer praise to Rajon. Paul Pierce has been nonexistent in Cleveland and the Celtics should by all means be up 2-0 right now. If they win both in Boston, which will be pretty hard to do, in my opinion, then they have a chance to win in 5 or 6. I really don’t want to see this go to 7 so I’m hoping they protect the home court.

  • Chuckolution

    I know another guy from denver who disappears in the post season. JR Smith

  • http://alan.george@gmail.com Breeze

    I mean i dont know if ya seen what i seen , maybe its a bad game or maybe i seen that this almighty cav team are not that unbeatable if your man lebron doesnt score 40 and jamison score at leat 20 and mo at least 20 it equals an L!

  • max

    lebron and dirk should team up, both are monsters in the playoffs, but their supporting casts choke everytime. Or we could just call lebron soft…

  • JoeMaMa

    No one on Cleveland can stop Rondo. He’ll get his. I can’t believe I (and everyone else here) forgot that when the playoffs come, Rondo brings his game to another level. Seriously, the guy is a true gamer. I’d also like to take the time to note that Michael Scorn is actually Savannah Brinson.

  • MrHoop01

    @Macgyver… Now y´all gonna start saying Lebron is hurt and thats why they can´t win! LMFAO!! Dude gets away with so much it´s not even funny. Like game 2 travel? Wow!! Too bad the Celtics are gonna wax them… what excuse are yall going to come up with then? Lebron is no MVP. I have more respect for Kevin Durant than this chump.

  • Exile

    Mike Brown is a nutbar. They have SHAQ, Twan, LBJ, Big Z, AP, Moon etc… Mo can have an off night and be a replaceable cog. If he is stinking it up, be a coach and sit him down and compensate. So if Mo gets injured, the Cavs lose?

  • Sporting-Lisbon-Blazers

    shaq looks like sh1t, and THATS NOT A TRAVEL BY LEBRON, DRIBLE JUMP STOP WITH BOTH FEET, LOOKS LIKE IT BUT ITS NOT. HARDWOOD PAROXYSM HAS THE NEWS. and the C´s look really good

  • KulchaKris

    @Sporting-Lisbon: I am pretty certain LeBaby took two steps, and then performed the jump stop, which is why it’s a travel.

  • The D Train

    The whole “Cleveland has a deep team” thing is pretty far off-base for this time of the year. What has any of the Cavs ever done in the playoffs, other than Lebron and Shaq? And obviously Shaq is a shell of his former self, albeit a 400 lb. shell, but a shell nevertheless. Mo shoots 45% FG, 40% 3′s and puts in 14 a game for his career regular season. With the bright lights a’glarin’, he’s at 42% FG, 36% 3′s and puts in 14 a game. So he shoots a little bit worse, but the bottom line is that if you are pinning your title hopes on Mo Williams you are asking for trouble.

  • JesusShuttlesworth

    MO IS A BUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM… simple as that.

  • http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

    Mike Brown wants Mo Williams to Step Up. I just want Mike Scorn to be funny.

  • http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

    Also, I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t think that move Lebron pulled was a travel, so maybe I’m missing the part where Lebron lifted up his dribble before the hop step.

  • Shelton

    On Mike & Mike this morning, both Mikes & Dick Vitale said Lebron will easily go down as greatest player of all time. The hype is really beginning to get ridiculous.

  • http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

    I mean, Shaq used to do that in the 90s all the time, if you keep your dribble then jump in the air and land, you’ve used your ‘two steps’ with one jump… I’ve rewound it numerous times and I can’t see where Lebron lifts his dribble… I mean there’s an f’in button for it!!!! Ray Allen did it to jump behind the three point line and no one mentioned anything. I’m not sure where this hate is comin’ from.
    That being said, Lebron’s gotta stop being a puss about the whole elbow thing and play or stay on the bench. I gave Kobe the same criticism, them the ropes.

  • mj23

    Mike Brown is the worst coach in the playoffs. Even worse than his evil twin Mike Woodson. Magic will be in the finals because they have the better coach in the east out of the other 3: Woodson, Brown, and Rivers.

  • http://myspace.com/mcnarrative Kieran

    Im not sure Mo Williams is good enough to be the second option on a Championship winning team. Saying that they have plenty other players who should pick up the slack.

  • kudos

    Can Slam please post the freaking vid of lebron doing his crab dribble. Jesus, he took 2steps before his second jump. Too be honest, the fact that lebron does this so much has more to do with his awkward footwork. His court vision is decent, handles are nothing special, and his shot is that of an elementary school player. Although he does have a knack for drawing fouls every time down court. Whether he’s jumping into people Or falling down. It’s hilarious erry time it happens.-

  • LA Huey

    @Jukai, I co-sign all-a-dat

  • Chris

    I feel bad for Mo. He had a bad game, but this is Mike Brown’s fault… When you have an offense that is nothing else than give the ball to Lebron and let him create for anyone else, of course you are going to lose games like last night.

    When Lebron has an off night the rest of the team doesn’t know what to do….. That’s just poor coaching.

  • T-Money

    This is not Mike Brown’s fault. Mo had plenty of open looks, you have to knock them down. Cleveland’s problems weren’t really on the offensive end. They can’t stop Rondo’s penetration, that’s why they lost the game.

  • http://myspace.com/mcnarrative Kieran

    Here is the video slowed down. Not a travel. Not many people here play much ball

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm0k2rqEeJQ

  • http://springbored.net letsmotor

    i know the series is 1-1, but in my opinion, cleveland’s the team that has more work to do. when you think about it, boston played poorly in game 1 in the second half of the third q and all of the fourth q. besides those 18 minutes, they’ve dominated. also, cleveland has that i didn’t think of until the series started. as everyone’s pointed out, rondo and ray are both extremely difficult players to guard, and mo’s going to have to guard one of them. also, garnett’s been way more effective than most would’ve expected, and jamison’s not looking like he can do much to stop him (did you see his “defense” on those lead passes to KG?!). Garnett’s even playing well enough to draw double teams, which of course opens things up for everyone else. and i don’t usually criticize coaches, because it’s usually tough for us to understand what the coaches do when some much of it takes place behind the scenes, but i agree with everyone criticizing mike brown. cleveland’s offense needs work. having a dominant player doesn’t eliminate the need for an offensive scheme. michael and kobe both needed/need the triangle.

  • LA Huey

    @Kieran, I’m gonna add some words from the official NBA rulebook. http://www.nba.com/videorulebook/category.html?cid=76 “An offensive player may end his dribble by alighting off of one foot and landing simultaneously on both feet. The offensive player on this play gathers the ball, alights from his right foot, and then lands with both feet simultaneously on the floor. Note that at this point, the player may not pivot; if he lifts either foot, the ball must be released prior to that foot returning to the floor.”

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