A trip up a flight of stairs took 10 minutes. Walking to the locker room from inside a gym was excruciating. A general perception of total disinterest prevailed.
That, Deron Williams said today, was how he felt playing on two bum ankles. And it definitely prevented him from being the team leader he needed to be.
“At the beginning of the season when I was playing bad it was hard — I don’t want to say feel sorry for myself — but not be down on myself,” Williams said noting teammates told him to ease up on himself.
Even that was hard to do because “I felt like I’m letting people down, letting my team down, letting fans down if I’m playing bad.”
Williams has undergone PRP treatment, received his third shot of cortisone injections and has been playing like, well, Deron Williams. He said a Feb. 10 nightmare game against San Antonio was the last straw. He shut it down, got his treatment and since the All-Star break, 12 games, has averaged 23.3 points and shot .467, including .471 on 3-pointers. In his first 50 games, he averaged 16.7 points and shot .413, including .347.
Yeah, he stunk for a max contract guy.
“I was still trying to be positive to everybody,” said Williams, who abruptly broke off his chat with media types when he was asked which set of shots he referred to – he had received three, after all.
“I heard people say I looked disinterested. I’m not disinterested,” Williams said of his poor play.
“Listen, walking from here to that locker-room felt like (crap),” he continued. “It would talk me 10 minutes to get up my stairs sometimes. I feel totally different right now.”
Having Williams healthy sort of helps the Nets who are about to embark on the longest road trip in team history, eight games over 17 days. The one redeeming element: they come home for three days after their seventh game before heading out to Cleveland. The Nets, during a prime playoff push, were moved out for the circus which must sit really well with the basketball guys.