GUEST BLOGGER: Eno Sarris from The Fantasy Lounge

The Fig Cap: In the words of the immortal Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr, “Gimme some MO!”

I promise you won’t have to know Busta Rhymes’ real name in order to understand why Mo Williams is a solid point guard worth drafting this high. You may have to get that song out of your head before you can continue on after the jump, though.

Round 5, Pick 3: Maurice Williams, PG, Milwaukee Bucks

You might have questioned giving Mo Williams six years and 52 million dollars to man the point in beer country. You might say that he’s too short and his shot disappears too often to be an elite point guard. You might remember his March last year, where he shot 37.3% from the field and a whopping 16% from three-point land. You might be wrong, though, because this guy is climbing the ranks quickly.

Zoom out a little, and some consistent improvement emerges over the past three years:

2004-05: 80 G; 28:12 Min; 43.8 FG%; .4 3PTM; 85.0 FT%; 3.1 RPG; 6.1 APG; 2.5 TO; 0.9 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 10.2 PPG
2005-06: 58 G; 26:24 Min; 42.4 FG%; 1.3 3PTM; 85.0 FT%; 2.5 RPG; 4.0 APG; 1.8 TO; 0.9 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 12.1 PPG
2006-07: 68 G; 36:24 Min; 44.6 FG%; 1.2 3PTM; 85.5 FT%; 4.8 RPG; 6.1 APG; 3.0 TO; 1.2 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 17.3 PPG

It looks like he took a step back in 2005-06, but that was more a factor of his team bringing in T.J. Ford to run the point, which cost Mo W minutes. However, the fact that the pressure of running the team was taken off his shoulders probably allowed Mo to take tons of threes and shore up his shaky shot. He DID shoot 38% for his rookie season in Utah, or they would never have let him go. Taking 3.3 threes a game in 05-06 must have helped him some…

Because last year would qualify as his BREAK-OUT season. That much is obvious, as the diminutive PG hit career highs in minutes, FG%, assists, rebounds, steals and points per game. And it’s because of that season that Mo is knocking on the door of the top ten of point guards and qualifies as a great sleeper pick going into the upcoming year.

His field goal percentage is better than Raymond Felton’s and Mike Bibby’s. He hits more threes than Tony Parker, Andre Miller, and T.J. Ford. He gets more assists than Jameer Nelson and Leandro Barbosa. He has more upside than Stephon Marbury. If he takes another step forward and continues to hit threes with an average field goal percentage, while also stealing closer to a steal and a half per game and getting more than six assists per game, no one will be questioning Mo’s place in the top 10 next year. And that’s not a huge “if,” given the fact that he’s been improving the last three years and is still only 25 years old.

It’s not all gravy with this guy, though. The shot is still not always there, making him a better roto player than H2H. He was no fun to own in November and March last year, when he took a combined 66 three-point shots and hit… 16. That would hurt, not as much as an Allen Iverson-broken-thumb-week-of-poor-shooting can hurt, but it would hurt.

And then there are the injuries. You can’t predict these things… unless a guy shows some history having trouble with them. And Mo has only played in 57, 80, 58, and 68 games a year so far, averaging 66. That’s missing a fifth of the season, yet another reason that Mo W is a better roto player than H2H.

On this fantasy team, he’ll pair up nicely with Baron Davis, giving the team, on the average, one great point guard at all times. Seriously, though, his average FG% for a point guard and good FT% was needed. This team couldn’t handle taking a Jamaal Tinsley-type later on because of Baron Davis and Tyson Chandler, but also needed to get some threes from the point guard since Melo only makes about half a three a game, relatively low for an SF. Mo’s free-throw percentage will help mitigate Chandler’s brickwork, but there’s more work to be done in threes and FT% for this team.

Other Players on this Fantasy Team:
1.3. Shawn Marion, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns
2.10. Carmelo Anthony, SF, Denver Nuggets
3.3. Baron Davis, PG, Golden State Warriors
4.10. Tyson Chandler, C, New Orleans Hornets

Previous Picks this Round
5.1. Antawn Jamison, SF/PF, Washington Wizards
5.2. Kirk Hinrich, PG/SG, Chicago Bulls

Previous Round Selections
Round One Recap
Round Two Recap
Round Three Recap
Round Four Recap