The Cleveland Cavaliers have started out winning two out of three on their current and last west coast trip of the season. They now have opened up a two game lead over the Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference, and as previously written, the schedule gets easier for the wine and gold after this trip.
The biggest news of late for the Cavs is the emergence of another member of their bench, making arguably the deepest bench in the NBA even deeper. The new contributor is even a hometown guy, who grew up in Cleveland and played at St. Edward High School before going on to North Carolina.
Jawad Williams, welcome to the real beginning of your NBA career.
When Jamario Moon went on the shelf with an abdominal strain a little over a week ago, the common thought was that Daniel Gibson would pick up his minutes. However, it has been Williams who has gained the most playing time.
He took advantage of his opportunity in the last home game against Washington, playing 25 minutes, scoring seven points and dishing out four assists. He was also on the floor when the Cavs went on a couple of runs leading to an easy victory.
He played less than 10 minutes in a loss to Denver, but contributed two huge three pointers in Sunday night’s win at Portland. Jawad played 17 minutes in that game, scoring 10 points (a career high) and grabbing a couple of rebounds.
In Oakland Monday night, Williams established a new career high in points with 11, and also passed out two assists in 20 minutes. He’s long and uses his size on defense, which has helped him gain time in Mike Brown’s rotation.
Meanwhile, Gibson’s playing time has dwindled since the coach decided to go to a nine-man rotation. Williams seized his opportunity to pass Gibson on the depth chart, and he has been a big contributor in the past four games.
We knew the Cavaliers were deep going into the season, but we had no idea they had a gem on the far end of the bench like Jawad Williams. Based on their performances when they get on the floor, both he and Darnell Jackson could get a lot of minutes for many NBA teams, but it’s tough to get that time when you are playing for a team that wins 75% of its games.
The Cavs have been searching for a “stretch four” all off-season and this year as well. Perhaps the answer could be Williams, who is 6’9” and 220 pounds, a similar build to Orlando’s Rashard Lewis, who hurt the wine and gold in the playoffs and is 6’10” and 230 pounds. It will be interesting to see if the former St. Ed’s standout remains effective with extended minutes, and will he continue to play when Moon returns to the lineup.
Even if he goes back to the end of the bench, Jawad Williams has paid dividends for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s a tribute to GM Danny Ferry for giving him a shot, and also a tribute to the coaching staff for developing a young player.
Williams wouldn’t be the first player who is a late bloomer. Just ask the guy he’s replacing in the rotation. It took Jamario Moon a long time to be an NBA regular too.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 