AccuScore On SportsFanLive

The bad news for the Cleveland Cavaliers is that point guard Mo Williams sprained his shoulder 1/19 against Toronto.  While Williams won’t need surgery, he will miss 4-6 weeks.  The good news is that the Cavs beat both the Lakers at home and the Thunder on the road without him.

Those two wins against quality competition without Williams in the lineup are not surprising.  AccuScore simulations projected as much.  Before the injury with a healthy Mo at PG, AccuScore projected Cleveland to win 60 games and nab the No. 1 seed out East.  Without him, AccuScore projected Cleveland to win 59.7 games, still a healthy 2 games ahead of Boston for the East’s best record. 

AccuScore expected Cleveland to be just fine in the backcourt through increased minutes for Delonte West and Boobie Gibson.  LeBron James would also be able to pick up the slack by handling the ball more often and initiating the offense, something he already does often for Cleveland.  West is shooting 39 percent from three-point range while Gibson is shooting a sparkling 47 percent from distance (45.7 percent overall).

The bad news is that now West has suffered a broken finger on his left (shooting) hand, and missed the Oklahoma City game.  Cleveland still managed to pull that game out on the shoulders of James, which will likely need to continue going forward.  One good sign for Cleveland is that the Cavs have yet to go out and sign another guard even on a 10-day contract.  That may signal that the front office isn’t overly concerned about West’s injury. 

As long as West is not out for an extended period like Williams, Cleveland fans shouldn’t be worried.  Cleveland has a small, but nice cushion on the Celtics and Magic for best record in the East.  The Cavs should be able to weather their backcourt injuries just fine.