Last season, Deron Williams rued the Nets’ isolation-heavy offense and longed for more motion and movement from the ball and his teammates. This preseason, they’ve installed just that, and the injured point guard, who will be charged with making the offense run, says he can’t wait.
“It’s a lot different [with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce]. I just think the offense in general is different,’’ Williams said. “[There’s] a lot more movement, the ball’s not stagnant and there’s not as much isolation.
“There’s going to be isos at times. We have a lot of matchups we can exploit. But that’s not what we’re going to rely on. We’re not going to rely on one-on-one. That’s been the biggest difference. It’s kind of an equal-opportunity offense, plays not for one certain guy, but anybody can get it.”
Which is a far cry from last year, and — according to Williams — an improvement.
Last December, he groused about then-coach Avery Johnson’s isolation-heavy system, calling himself a system player and saying he loved the flex offense Jerry Sloan had run in Utah — a motion offense that relied on spacing and ball movement.
Asked then if Brooklyn’s system was better, Williams didn’t hesitate to say, “No. It’s just more one-on-one isos.’’ And it didn’t change that much under P.J. Carlesimo, running the fifth-most isolation plays in the NBA at 14.2 per game. That will change now.
Coach Jason Kidd brought some of the concepts he used as a player in Dallas, and some he swiped from the Spurs. And assistant coach John Welch — the de facto offensive coordinator, with Lawrence Frank on defense — brought influences from working under George Karl in Denver and Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV. Brooklyn will be a hodgepodge of them all, with Williams soaking it all in.
“I’ve still got my iPad loaded with plays, schemes, so I’m definitely comfortable,’’ Williams said. “I’ve been doing a lot of five-on-[none] stuff. I just haven’t been doing five-on-five. I have a pretty good feel, stuff that San Antonio run and the Mavs ran. I know most of the NBA playbook — it’s a matter of getting comfortable with the guys.’’
Williams still hasn’t played or even scrimmaged this preseason, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. But given how many pick-and-rolls he has run in his career, he doesn’t feel that aspect of his game will gather that much rust.
“I don’t think that’ll take long at all,’’ Williams said. “With the way we’re playing and the way practice has gone, they should just be able to put me in and go from there.’’
Part of Williams’ confidence for building offensive cohesion quickly is the presence of Garnett and Pierce. Williams said the future Hall of Famers are not only potent scorers, but willing passers and ball-movers.
“[Ball-movement] will be very good. I think that’s a big strong point of our team,’’ Williams said. “We have so many guys that can pass the ball, even off the bench. We’re going to strive on making extra passes, racking up the assists, hopefully keeping our turnovers down, which we haven’t done yet.’’
Garnett can facilitate out of the high post and Pierce from a point-forward spot, and with the Nets shorthanded at point guard, may have to. With Williams yet to see the court, they’ve played three preseason games with Shaun Livingston as the only natural point guard, and Alan Anderson playing the position for the first time since college. Still, their offense looks improved and more fluid.
“We can only go with the guys that can suit up and the guys that practice and play,” Kidd said. “ Those guys feel very comfortable with one another. But when Deron gets back he can only help. So that’s the way we’re looking at it.
“Right now we have a committee. Al’s done a great job. I don’t think he came here thinking he’d be a backup point guard, but it shows the depth. The last time he ran point guard was at Michigan State, but he’s done a very good job for us. We have multiple ball handlers, so it’s not just [one].’’