by Jordan Garretson, January 27, 2012
Deron Williams leads the Nets into Cleveland tonight to take on the Cavaliers in the final game of their three-game road trip.
It's the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Cleveland got the best of the first showdown when D-Will tallied 16 points and added five assists in New Jersey's 98-82 loss in Cleveland on New Year's Day.
But that loss came in the middle of a six-game Nets losing streak. The tables have turned for New Jersey in the last two weeks and they enter tonight's game seeking their fourth win in six games.
"We're playing good," Deron said. "If we just hit some shots in that Oklahoma City game, it could have been a different game [they shot 31 percent]. We played well against Charlotte. I thought we played well against Chicago, we were just tired and they're a good team. But I thought we played good and I've seen some bright spots. We've definitely been playing better and we've made some progress. We're still a young team and we're still learning but it's been a lot better."
One reason for New Jersey's recent success has been that of D-Will. Over the last five games, No. 8 is averaging 21.4 points, 9.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. He ranks eighth in the NBA in the combined category over the last five.
To capitalize on that momentum, the Nets are trying to get D-Will to be more selfish with the ball and take more shots. It was that way on Wednesday when coach Avery Johnson said he put the ball in Deron's hands and told his point guard to "take us home." No. 8 responded by scoring 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"When you look up when he has 25 or 27, you see it's that type of night for him. So you encourage him to keep shooting," forward Shawne Williams told the New York Post. "It helps a lot having an All-Star point guard in big games because the ball is in his hands and you respect the decision he makes."
Deron said looking for his own shot has been an adjustment for him. He generally prides himself on his ability to get others involved. But he knows the Nets have a lot riding on him.
"I'm going to be more aggressive," he told the Star-Ledger. "All my teammates have been telling me to shoot it. Even when I have 18 shots (in Wednesday's win over Philadelphia), they're telling me I should have shot more, so that's what I'm going to try to do – try to be more of a scorer, even though I would like to pass more. My first nature is to get everybody involved. I gotta kind of fight that and be a little more selfish.''
Shawne Williams said that what Deron can do with the ball makes his teammates more willing to sacrifice their looks for him. And with MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries and Mehmet Okur all game-time decisions for tonight's game in Cleveland, it's going to be on D-Will again to bring the Nets to victory.
"You see Deron crossing, and sometimes we become fans again," Shawne Williams told The Record. "[But] you just have to understand, he's a pass-first point guard. He's not a selfish guard, he wants to get everyone else going, but sometimes we tell him to get himself going and then we'll go off you [Wednesday] he didn't wait for anybody to get going and he took the game over."
He'll look to do just that again tonight in Cleveland. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on YES.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Deron continued his recent double-double tear this week, racking up two more.
D-Will totaled 16 points and 10 assists Monday against Chicago before recording 34 and 11 in Wednesday's thrilling overtime victory at Philadelphia, marking his third-straight game with a double-double. No. 8 has also recorded double-doubles in four of his last five games. New Jersey is 3-2 over that span.
D-Will turned in one of his finest performances of the year and the Nets needed every bit of it to snatch an overtime victory at Philadelphia, their biggest win this season. No. 8 scored 34 points — including 17 in the fourth quarter and overtime — while recording 11 assists in New Jersey's 97-90 victory over the 76ers.
Deron reeled off another double-double and shot 50 percent from the floor, but the Nets' only back-to-back-to-back of the season ended with a formidable challenge: the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls, bolstered by the return of Derrick Rose. D-Will's 16 points and 10 assists weren't enough to put New Jersey over the top, and the Bulls won, 110-95, at the United Center.
