Even though I missed tonight’s game, I still feel qualified to comment on one critical aspect of the loss.
Two Cavs players suffered injuries of varying intensity during the game: Mo Williams and Andy Varejao. Mo suffered a right adductor (groin) strain, and Andy suffered some bruised ribs. Mo had to leave the game for good in the third quarter, but Varejao returned with a compression shirt and continued to play.
I’ve read three different recaps of the game, and in each one, Mo’s injury is treated as the devastating one.
This is exactly backwards.
We here at Mesa have been champions of Anderson for as long as the blog has been running. Instead of a “role player,” as seems to be the conventional label for him, we have seen the second best player on the team in the LeBron era.
Like many other NBA players, Andy simply doesn’t get the credit he deserves because he’s not a scorer. However, he does a host of other things that collectively add up to much more than the value of someone who puts up 16-20 points per game. Above all, he’s a fierce defender—John Hollinger declared him the best defensive 4 in the league in his 2009-10 All Defense Team selection column just a few months ago. This is true not only on an individual level, but from a team standpoint as well. He has been without a doubt the bedrock of the defense for the past several years.
In addition, Andy is an aggressive rebounder (as we all know) and one of the league’s best finishers at the rim (69% last season, 75% so far in 2010-11).
By contrast, Mo is almost strictly a scorer—and this season especially, not even a very good one. In his 4 games thus far, he’s shooting a dismal 36.2% FG and an even grimmer 14.3% 3FG.
For only the second time in his career, he is also under 80% from the free throw line. However, credit where credit is due: Mo is getting to the line 7.9 times per 36 minutes this season. His previous high? 3.0 FTA per 36.
Admittedly, Mo’s shooting numbers would almost undoubtedly head back toward his career averages as the season continued. But even if they did, there’s one simple element to this equation that we can’t forget: the Cavs have other players comparable to (or potentially better than) Mo Williams. Daniel Gibson has been as productive or more productive than Mo all season, and if Ramon Sessions can find his bearings and return to his Bucks form, extended minutes for him will be arguably the best thing that could happen to this team’s win percentage.
On the other hand, the Cavs have no players who can make up for an injured Andy—unless Samardo Samuels becomes the steal of this year’s rookie class. Obviously Anderson isn’t damaged as badly as Mo, since he went back in the game after his rib bruising. But being able to stay on the floor and being healthy are two very different things. If Andy’s production drops off significantly (tonight: only 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a -11 in 35 minutes), the Cavs will be hurt far worse by that than by any number of missed minutes by Mo.
Hopefully this won’t be an issue the Cavs have to deal with. If it is, you can bet that their record will suffer. In that case, though, let’s at least make sure that we can all correctly point to the real source of the problem on the injury tip.
-T
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