Mo Williams Pulls Disappearing Act...Again

Mo Williams was supposed to be LeBron James' version of Scottie Pippen—Robin to LeBron's Batman.

During the 2008-2009 season, Mo was phenomenal. He made his first All-Star team of his NBA career, as an injury replacement. He put up numbers of 17.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 4.1 APG.

The 17.8 PPG was a career high. He shot a career-best 43.6 percent from three-point range and an astonishing 91.2 percent from the charity stripe. Both of those percentages put him at the top of each category.

Entering the playoffs, he seemed like the answer to all of LeBron's problems. With Mo and "King James," the Cavs were destined to hang a banner in the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena, or "The Q" as the locals call it.

Not so fast.

Enter the 2009 Playoffs.

So far, through 11 games of the playoffs, Mo has struggled mightily. He has been posting numbers well below his All-Star season averages. His numbers so far are 15.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 4.5 APG.

The most frightening stats, however, are his shooting percentages. He is shooting 33.3 percent from long range and a scary 70.4 percent from the stripe.

Those numbers just aren't going to cut it.

On the biggest stage of his career, the Eastern Conference Finals, he has been even worse. He is shooting an atrocious 25 percent from the floor. In the series so far, he has posted shooting performances of:

* 6-of-19 for 17 points

* 7-of-21 for 19 points

* 5-of-16 for 15 points

Not exactly "Pippenesque."

If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to have a realistic chance of beating the Orlando Magic and advancing to their second NBA Finals in three seasons, Mo Williams is going to have to play like the All-Star that he was this past season.

He is struggling mightily against the extremely underrated rookie Courtney Lee. Lee has been stuck on Mo like a fly on flypaper. Mo goes right, Lee is there. He curls left, Lee is waiting.

The Cavs have to do a better job of getting Mo the ball in his area of the court. Run more pick and rolls involving him. Create wide-open three-point attempts off of LeBron's dribble penetration.

Otherwise, they are going to be starting their offseason a lot earlier than expected.

It is one thing to be an All-Star from late October to mid-April. It is a completely different thing to be an All-Star from late April to mid-June.

Mo Williams is finding that right out the hard way.