Following a short stint on the bench, Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams returned to the starting lineup on Saturday night in Indy. Williams struggled through a 3/12 shooting performance en route to 13 points and six assists, and said his confidence is low these days. Per the NY Post:
“It’s not my highest,” he said with a sheepish smile. “It’s been tough … just being in and out of the lineups, missing two weeks here and there.
“I feel like I get my legs back, get my legs in shape, and then I go out again. Then I’ve got to just do it all over again. It’s just been a struggle.”
It’s seemingly been a never-ending struggle for the franchise point guard since the Nets moved to Brooklyn in the summer of 2012. After Williams agreed to become the face of the franchise by inking a five-year, $100 million max contract that summer, he has battled issues with both of his ankles.
Part of dealing with that is the constant coming and going from the lineup, as well as the rebuilding of his stamina each time he has to leave the lineup. His legs have repeatedly proved to be an issue in back-to-back games, when he has consistently shot worse (43.7 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from 3-point range) than he has in games when the Nets haven’t played the night before.
“I think back-to-backs have been tough the whole year on me,” he said on Saturday. “I played a lot of minutes [Saturday], and I could feel them getting heavy, but there’s no excuses. That’s my job. I’ve got to find ways to push through it.”
