While the Nets have gotten off to a hot start, their star point guard has not.
“I’ve just got to find the rhythm,” Deron Williams said in the visitor’s locker room in Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena after Saturday night’s 102-89 loss to the Heat.
“I’ve definitely been turning down some shots to get other guys shots, but I just haven’t found a rhythm in this offense yet. I haven’t found where I can get my shots from consistently, and I’m not a guy that likes to go one-on-one every play, so it’s been difficult.”
Williams has done an excellent job, as expected, of getting his teammates involved in the offense, averaging nearly nine assists per game. But though his passing has been superb, his shooting — by his own admission — has been subpar.
Through 16 games, Williams is shooting 38 percent overall and 26 percent from 3-point range — both far below his career averages of 45 and 35 percent, respectively.
“I don’t want to shoot 38 percent from the field, no matter what, win or lose,” Williams said. “I want to be able to do more for our team. I’m not used to shooting the ball like this. I’m not used to not being aggressive like this.”
Undoubtedly some of the issues plaguing Williams are the various bumps and bruises he has picked up over the course of the first few weeks of the season. After taking several hard spills, Williams dealt with, at various times, soreness in his right (shooting) elbow and wrist, as well as both of his legs.
That, combined with the Nets having just played eight games in 14 days — including road trips to the West Coast and Florida — has left Williams with little chance to rest and recover, and looking forward to this week’s lighter schedule. The Nets have just a pair of home games, tomorrow against the Thunder and Friday against the Warriors, on tap.
“I need this rest as much as anybody,” he said.
But there also is a matter of trying to get used to the many new parts the Nets have assembled. Coming into the season, virtually the entire team was made up of players who hardly played together, leaving them with plenty still to learn about each other.
That included Williams and his fellow All-Star in the backcourt, Joe Johnson.
“We’re all still trying to figure this out,” said Johnson, who has dealt with his own shooting woes this season before hitting nearly 50 percent of his shots in the last six games. “We’re trying to figure out how to get him going, and get him in rhythm. I know he wants to get going, and we want to try to get going.
“We know he’ll lead us in the right direction.”