Deron Williams still is expected to play in the Nets’ season opener in Cleveland on Oct. 30, but coach Jason Kidd opened the door slightly to the possibility his star point guard sitting out the start of the season because of the sprained right ankle and corresponding bone bruise he suffered last month.
“He’s day-by-day,” Kidd said before the Nets’ 99-88 loss to the Pistons in Brooklyn. “With Deron, he’ll get some work in [Saturday], he’s going to the court now and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow after the workout.
“Again, this is going to be a question that we’re probably going to have to deal with every day until he does get the green light to go, but we’re not rushing him. So if we have to start the season with him still trying to get better, I think we all feel comfortable, but we would feel a little bit more comfortable if he was starting.”
Williams went through a series of shooting drills with assistant coach John Welch for about 25 minutes prior to Saturday night’s game, and he didn’t appear to be favoring his ankle during the workout.
With the Nets having just one practice Sunday afternoon before playing three games in the next four days, it appears extremely unlikely he would make his preseason debut until Oct. 23 in Boston, at the earliest. The Nets have a significant gap between that game and their home contest on Oct. 17 against the defending champion Heat, during which they are scheduled to hold four practices in five days. That would seem to be the optimal time to get Williams — assuming he’s ready to do so — back into practice in time to play in the final two preseason games to get ready for the season opener.
After injuring the ankle in a workout in Utah early last month, Williams made an appearance at his charity dodgeball tournament in New York on Sept. 19 in a walking boot, but said it was being worn as a precaution and that he would be ready for training camp. But since the Nets began camp last week at Duke University, Williams has been limited in practice and has yet to participate in any type of contact drill.
“It’s doing better,” Williams said of his ankle during his media day press conference on Sept. 30. “[Nets athletic trainer Tim Walsh] is going to make me take it slow, though. My main thing [is] right now I can probably go out and do everything, but if I tweak my ankle or if I have a setback, then that won’t be good. Right now, we’re going to take it slow and see how things go.
“I’m very confident [I’ll be ready for the season opener]. … I can probably get out there and do everything right now, but Timmy won’t let me, bottom line.”
Williams said Friday there was no update on his injury, and that he would give an update when there was one.
Second-year point guard Tyshawn Taylor sat out the second half with what he called a “pretty badly” sprained right ankle after injuring it on a drive late in the second quarter.
“I don’t even think I twisted it,” he said. “I think I just kind of jammed it.”
Taylor stayed in the game after the injury, which came on a drive with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter, making one of his two free throws, and finishing the half with five points, an assist and a turnover in just over 10 minutes.
“I don’t really know,” Taylor said when asked how soon he thought he could come back. “They told me it might swell up tonight, so keep some ice on it and keep it elevated, and we’ll go from there.”
Taylor has been getting extended minutes with Williams sidelined with a sprained right ankle of his own, and admitted potentially missing out on a chance for that extra playing time was even more frustrating for him than an injury usually would.
“For sure,” he said. “It’s an opportunity, you know what I mean? He’s definitely going to be sitting out two games, and I might be sitting next to him now. It’s tough because I want to be out there, but what are you going to do? This is stuff you can’t prevent or do anything about, so you’ve got to stay positive and just try to get better.”
In addition to Williams, Jason Terry (offseason left knee surgery), Tornike Shengelia (offseason left knee surgery) and Jorge Gutierrez (sprained left ankle) sat out against Detroit. Brooklyn native Gary Forbes, who missed Tuesday’s preseason opener in Washington because of an illness, scored six points in 16 minutes in his Nets preseason debut.