Deron Williams knows what Gerald Wallace is going through.
It wasn’t so long ago Williams was struggling with his shot and searching for confidence, igniting questions about the Nets’ franchise player and his place among the NBA’s premier point guards. But he powered past it, reminding Brooklyn why it fretted opening Barclays Center without him, shooting 58.3 percent from the field in the first three games of the month.
After hearing of Wallace’s brutal honesty about his brutal shooting, which he revealed to The Post on Saturday, Williams had the solution to his teammate’s problem.
“He needs to stop talking about it, just like I had to stop talking about my injuries and shooting with [the media] because it just weighs on you,” Williams said after yesterday’s practice. “You come in every day and you got to hear about why you’re missing shots, it’s going to start creeping in your head. That’s why I don’t talk about my injuries and why I don’t like talking about shooting with [the media]. I feel like he shouldn’t either.”
Wallace’s eight points per game and 40 percent shooting from the field are his lowest since 2003-04, but more troubling has been the 30-year-old’s hesitance to even attempt a shot, taking only eight shots in the past three games combined.
BREAKDOWN OF WALLACE SHOOTING STRUGGLES
Wallace did not speak with reporters yesterday, but the veteran forward admitted on Saturday that after six weeks of struggles, shooting 33.8 percent from the field since the All-Star break and 43.2 percent before it, he has turned into an offensive bystander, looking to affect the other areas of the game, afraid to shoot.
Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said he would address the situation with Wallace and believes it is still a fixable issue this late in the season.
“Shooting, a ton of that is confidence and confidence for the most part is based on prior success,” said Carlesimo. “It’s really hard to be confident when your shot is not going in. …These guys are the best in world at what they do, but still, when the shot’s not going in, it’s difficult. It’s like the guys on the PGA Tour missing putts. They’re as good as they can be, but they get a bad week and it’s really hard that next week.”
Williams understands. And said it’s no easier to deal with no matter how long you’ve succeeded.
“Confidence is confidence,” Williams said. “You lose that, that’s pretty much everything.”
* Joe Johnson and Keith Bogans (back) did not practice yesterday and neither is confirmed to play in tonight’s game against the 76ers. Johnson played in the past two games but sat out the previous five due to quad and heel injuries.
Though yesterday was considered a regular off-day for Johnson, with no injury designation, P.J. Carlesimo said the Nets need him back to full strength before the playoffs begin.
“I think Joe’s health is the biggest concern,” Carlesimo said about heading into the playoffs. “It Joe’s healthy, then we’re fine.”