A Former Star…
Enter Deron Williams. It’s not often that a two-time former All-NBA second team guard is in a position to play this type of role in this big a spot, but here we are.
Williams – amazingly still just 32 years old – was signed to take some of the playmaking duties off of LeBron’s shoulders during the regular season. But it’s crunch time now, and he likely won’t have the ball in his hands much during this series. He will, however, have a chance to make a serious impact.
With the Cavs, Williams shot 41 percent from deep on just over two attempts per game. In the playoffs, he has hit on half of his 22 attempted threes, and he is a career 40 percent shooter from downtown in the postseason.
Against the Warriors, Williams will garner the respect from Golden State that Shumpert fails to receive. In turn, this should allow the Cavs to space the floor like they’ll need to. That spacing is the key to everything Cleveland does on offense. Thus far in the playoffs, they could afford to have weak spots on the floor here and there. Weak spots equal death against the Warriors.