When the Cleveland Cavaliers were making their run to the NBA Finals last season they suffered two major injuries which put their depth in the spotlight. They overcame the Kevin Love injury as Tristan Thompson stepped up but the injury to Kyrie Irving was tough to overcome in the finals because their lack of a solid backup point guard. This offseason the Cavaliers went out and signed Mo Williams to be the backup point guard and he is reportedly in tremendous shape, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com.
Matthew Dellavedova was the backup point guard last year and although he is back again this season the Cavaliers knew they needed to improve that position. The backup point guard spot becomes even more important this year with Irving's status for the beginning of the season up in the air. Irving may be out until as late as January and until then Williams will have to start with Dellavedova backing him up. When Irving comes back the Cavs will have depth at the position just in case another injury happens.
Williams has started the vast majority of his games in the NBA so he is used to playing big minutes but he will turn 33 this season so the fact that he is in great shape is a very good thing for the Cavaliers and their fans because they are going to need him to shoulder the load until Irving gets back. Dellavedova had his moments last season but overall he wasn't great and Williams is a major upgrade over him as a backup point guard.
Williams played with LeBron James and the Cavaliers previously from 2008-2010 and was an All-Star during the 2008-09 season when he averaged a career high 17.8 points per game. Williams is a career 38 percent shooter from three and averages 13.4 points per game for his career so his presence should give the Cavaliers a nice boost as they push for a championship. Not only will Williams be able to score but he will also allow LeBron to play off the ball a little more which will only make him more effective and in turn make the team more effective.
