The last few years for Deron Williams have been extremely tough. It is not that Williams has missed a ton of games — he played in 64 last year and 78 the year before — it was just that it was clear Williams was not the same kind of player. He did not have the same bounce to his step or the same rhythm to his game.
This was the point guard thought to be the best in the NBA for some time. You whispered his name in the same breath as Chris Paul.
Multiple ankle and foot injuries have sapped Williams of that strength and speed. His scoring dropped from 21.0 points per game in 2012, his first full season with the Nets, down to 14.3 per game last year. His assists from 8.7 per game to 6.1. The Nets were not the team they could have been without their high-salaried point guard at full health.
At long last, it looks like Williams is getting there. The Nets may finally have their star.
In Sunday’s win over Orlando, Williams scored 18 points and dished out seven assists while outplaying upstart rookie Elfrid Payton. He controlled the pace of the game and looked comfortable taking jumpers and getting into the lane. Payton may one day be a great defender in this league, but Williams gave him quite the lesson to start his career off with.
Williams previously had that speed to go with his sizeable frame — listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds — to create space and pulverize smaller point guards on the block.
Williams appears back to his former self, averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 assists per game entering Sunday’s game. These were more in line with his numbers from his Utah days and from before the injuries seemed to sap him of much of his abilities.
Through last year’s nearly disastrous season for the Nets, Deron Williams finally admitted he was never fully healthy. As Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes, the Nets appear finally to be getting the full Deron Williams experience:
“I wouldn’t say I was ever healthy [last season]. See, I wouldn’t be able to come in and shoot shots the next day. I would be in so much pain that I wouldn’t be able to do that.
That makes such a difference as far as rhythm … this is my job. I need to be able to practice, to be able to get up extra shots to be who I want to be.”
Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez may end up being the offensive center points for the Nets. But Deron Williams is still the one who has to make the show go. He is the one directing the team and keeping it in rhythm.
Brooklyn finished sixth in the East last year. With that payroll, that was considered a disappointment. They let Paul Pierce walk. Kevin Garnett is now in his 20th year in the NBA and cannot quite provide the same push on the offensive end he once did (his defense is still more than alive and well).
Williams would be the key for pushing the Nets beyond first-round also-rans in the Eastern Conference.
And if he is back to his All-Star form, then the Nets are a much different team than everyone anticipated. And having a player who could be the best point guard in the league back to playing like it, certainly changes the entire complexion of the NBA in a very good way.
