Thursday, January 21, 2010

Mo Williams injured against Toronto

I was shocked (shocked I say!) that Mo Williams returned to the game after injuring his shoulder on Tuesday night against Raptors. The way Williams held his shoulder and the fact that he doubled over (same thing I've done whenever I've dislocated mine) led me to believe his shoulder popped out.

Well, Mo didn't dislocate his shoulder, but he did strain it. So, um, good news?

Brian Windhorst says Mo will miss 4-6 weeks:

Williams suffered a left shoulder sprain Tuesday after reaching for a steal against the Toronto Raptors. After getting an MRI today at the Cleveland Clinic, team doctors have determined Williams will miss 4-6 weeks. That would put his return some time after next month's All-Star Game.

It could have been worse, the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade suffered a nearly identical hit reaching for a ball two years ago and it ended his season with surgery.

I concur, it could've been much much much worse.

I don't think Cavs fans should be too bummed out about this (this isn't Jim Chones' foot). Obviously, having Mo miss six weeks isn't ideal but it's sure as hell better than him missing the rest of the season. You really couldn't expect the Cavs to go injury free for the whole season and Mo will be back shortly after the All-Star Game.

Mo's absence means big changes for both Delonte West and Daniel Gibson. In theory, West moves into the starting lineup and Boobie becomes the backup point guard. However, I wouldn't put it past Coach Mike to start Boobie rather than mess up his rotations (keep Delonte coming off the bench). [Edit: Delonte is starting]

I'd like to see Delonte get the majority of Mo's minutes, but who knows how he's going to respond to the increased workload. Meanwhile, Boobie hasn't played in three weeks and who knows the status of his jumpers.

The fact that the Cavs will have to adjust to being Mo-less against the Lakers doesn't help things much.

But every contender has to deal with injuries. The Cavs have been praised for their depth all season, time to see if it was deserved.