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Cavs get a lot of Mo in scrimmage

New guard struts stuff at Rhodes

By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sports writer

It didn't take long for Mo Williams to show the different dimension he brings to the Cavaliers.

On the very first possession of the team's annual intrasquad Wine and Gold Scrimmage Saturday at Rhodes Arena, Williams gave a head fake and crossover dribble in transition and went right to the basket.

There wasn't a spectacular finish — LeBron James saved that for later. All Williams did was draw a shooting foul. But that wasn't the point; it was just what the Cavs hope is the start of a new offensive trend.

It certainly was the a start of a pattern Saturday afternoon. Williams scored 13 points in the Gold team's 49-45 win and was creating fastbreak chances throughout.

Once, he hit Anderson Varejao from halfcourt on an alley-oop. Another time, he tracked down a loose ball, spun and threw a long pass up the floor to start another easy break.

''That's one of my gifts. I can make plays in the open court,'' Williams said. ''That is an area we're trying to get better at. We've put an emphasis on it this year. We have guys who can run, and we're getting out there and doing it. It starts with me, guys see me doing it and it has to trickle down.''

In the fourth quarter with Williams' Gold team comfortably ahead, he switched jerseys and nearly led a comeback with the Wine team, combining with Daniel Gibson, who scored a team-high 16 points, in the backcourt.

''With Mo's quickness, we want to get the ball up the floor quicker,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. '' We don't want to be Phoenix. We have guys who are push guards, and we want to take advantage of it.''

James played only the first quarter and then retired to the bench and ate popcorn. He made just one basket but it left an impression — especially on Sasha Pavlovic.

In transition, Gibson bounced the ball off the backboard in a highlight pass attempt to James. Pavlovic got there first and thought he had the ball until James soared over his head and dunked it.

He also had four rebounds and two assists in his eight minutes on the floor.

Ben Wallace had six points and three rebounds and was quite active, especially when matched up against rookie J.J. Hickson. Wallace challenged Hickson physically whenever he could. The rookie did hold his own, even stepping up and drawing a charge on Wallace in the first half.

Hickson did have another strong moment when he blocked a shot and then hustled to the other end for a dunk on a fastbreak.

Big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had eight points and three blocks, and Varejao, who had seven points and four rebounds, showed good form. As did Lorenzen Wright, who made all four of his shots for eight points.

James gets award

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic presented James with the key to the city before the game in honor of his performance at the Olympics in Beijing, where he helped Team USA win the gold medal. After the game, James attended a rally in Cleveland to support young voter registration. He has donated money to Barack Obama's campaign as well.

''It's all about getting young people to understand how important it is to vote,'' James said. ''This is a time that could be life-changing for a lot of people. You want to stress how important it is to vote. It only comes around every four years. If you want change, you have to be heard.''

West takes leave

Guard Delonte West was excused from training camp Saturday to attend to a family emergency. Brown said he was not sure when West would return. Camp invitee Michael Dickerson has been away from the team dealing with a family matter since midweek as well.


Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.

It didn't take long for Mo Williams to show the different dimension he brings to the Cavaliers.

On the very first possession of the team's annual intrasquad Wine and Gold Scrimmage Saturday at Rhodes Arena, Williams gave a head fake and crossover dribble in transition and went right to the basket.

There wasn't a spectacular finish — LeBron James saved that for later. All Williams did was draw a shooting foul. But that wasn't the point; it was just what the Cavs hope is the start of a new offensive trend.

It certainly was the a start of a pattern Saturday afternoon. Williams scored 13 points in the Gold team's 49-45 win and was creating fastbreak chances throughout.

Once, he hit Anderson Varejao from halfcourt on an alley-oop. Another time, he tracked down a loose ball, spun and threw a long pass up the floor to start another easy break.

''That's one of my gifts. I can make plays in the open court,'' Williams said. ''That is an area we're trying to get better at. We've put an emphasis on it this year. We have guys who can run, and we're getting out there and doing it. It starts with me, guys see me doing it and it has to trickle down.''

In the fourth quarter with Williams' Gold team comfortably ahead, he switched jerseys and nearly led a comeback with the Wine team, combining with Daniel Gibson, who scored a team-high 16 points, in the backcourt.

''With Mo's quickness, we want to get the ball up the floor quicker,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. '' We don't want to be Phoenix. We have guys who are push guards, and we want to take advantage of it.''

James played only the first quarter and then retired to the bench and ate popcorn. He made just one basket but it left an impression — especially on Sasha Pavlovic.

In transition, Gibson bounced the ball off the backboard in a highlight pass attempt to James. Pavlovic got there first and thought he had the ball until James soared over his head and dunked it.

He also had four rebounds and two assists in his eight minutes on the floor.

Ben Wallace had six points and three rebounds and was quite active, especially when matched up against rookie J.J. Hickson. Wallace challenged Hickson physically whenever he could. The rookie did hold his own, even stepping up and drawing a charge on Wallace in the first half.

Hickson did have another strong moment when he blocked a shot and then hustled to the other end for a dunk on a fastbreak.

Big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had eight points and three blocks, and Varejao, who had seven points and four rebounds, showed good form. As did Lorenzen Wright, who made all four of his shots for eight points.

James gets award

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic presented James with the key to the city before the game in honor of his performance at the Olympics in Beijing, where he helped Team USA win the gold medal. After the game, James attended a rally in Cleveland to support young voter registration. He has donated money to Barack Obama's campaign as well.

''It's all about getting young people to understand how important it is to vote,'' James said. ''This is a time that could be life-changing for a lot of people. You want to stress how important it is to vote. It only comes around every four years. If you want change, you have to be heard.''

West takes leave

Guard Delonte West was excused from training camp Saturday to attend to a family emergency. Brown said he was not sure when West would return. Camp invitee Michael Dickerson has been away from the team dealing with a family matter since midweek as well.


Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.



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Posted by AA 08:43 PM, 10/05/2008

Windhorst doesn't even have the courtesy to tell his Beacon Journal readers, "See ya."

Posted by barry 10:53 PM, 10/05/2008

so what? the journal barely told the readers when he was sick.

Posted by jomel 05:49 AM, 10/06/2008

Its starting to really look great for all of us Cavalier hopefuls!

Posted by johnny 05:51 AM, 10/06/2008

see ya? where is he going?

Posted by AA 06:18 AM, 10/06/2008

Where's he going? The Plain Dealer.

Posted by J 03:01 PM, 10/06/2008

How do you know he is leaving?? any proof or just speculation?

Posted by AA 11:59 PM, 10/06/2008

j, It's not secret. He accepted the Beacon Journal's buyout offer and started at the Plain Dealer today, October 6. He's already gone from the Beacon Journal.




Cleveland Cavaliers Zydrunas Ilgauskas (left) high fives teammate LeBron James as the Wine team is introduced at the Wine and Gold Scrimmage at the University of Akron's James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.(Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)