He didn't, he really didn't. He's a good player that went from a bad team to a better team. Saying that had an above average year would be saying that he's having a sort of breakout year, that he's playing better than he was before. He's not. He's playing the same game for a better team. End of story. To say that Mo Williams is the difference maker is almost like saying that if Cavs didn't get Mo Williams and instead swapped LeBron for Michael Redd, Milwaukee would be hands down the best team in the league. Really? I don't think so. I was bothered because Charles Barkley said that Mo Williams is having "a monster year" this season. Can you please do some research before throwing out arbitrary analysis?
Let's look at Mo's per game averages for the last 4 years:
| Mo Williams | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 |
| MPG | 26.4 | 36.3 | 36.5 | 35.0 |
| FGA | 10.8 | 15.4 | 13.9 | 13.9 |
| FG% | 42.4% | 44.6% | 48.0% | 46.7% |
| 3PM | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| 3P% | 38.2% | 34.6% | 38.5% | 43.6% |
| FT% | 85.0% | 85.5% | 85.6% | 91.2% |
| PPG | 12.1 | 17.3 | 17.2 | 17.8 |
| RPG | 2.5 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| APG | 4.0 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 4.1 |
| SPG | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| BPG | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| TO | 1.8 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
His scoring average has pretty much been the same ever since he got more playing time, so his overall production on the Bucks is the same as his output on the Cavs. The main difference being that he takes and makes more 3s, which I would argue, is simply because a.) he's asked to take more of those shots and b.) he gets better looks at those shots because of LeBron. I'm not really going to go a whole lot into the players Williams plays with on Cleveland and compare them to who he played with in Milwaukee, but I'm going to briefly say that LeBron James is better at getting his teammates better shots or rather even shots in general than Michael Redd. Don't believe me? Let's look at the per 36 numbers then:
| Mo Williams | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 |
| FGA | 14.8 | 15.3 | 13.7 | 14.3 |
| FG% | 42.4% | 44.6% | 48.0% | 46.7% |
| 3PM | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| 3P% | 38.2% | 34.6% | 38.5% | 43.6% |
| FT% | 85.0% | 85.5% | 85.6% | 91.2% |
| Pts | 16.5 | 17.1 | 17.0 | 18.3 |
| Reb | 3.4 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Asst | 5.4 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 4.2 |
| Stl | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Blk | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| TO | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
Williams's output is pretty identical, instead of passing the ball a couple more times he's picking better shots to take and making them, hence increase in scoring, decrease in assists. Definitely solid, but nothing really stellar, honestly, not really production I think would put Cleveland over the top. So what is putting Cleveland over the top then? My call is improved play from players you weren't expecting to do this well.
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