Deron Williams sat out the Nets’ 102-98 win over Golden State Wednesday, the 13th game he’s missed this season. When he’ll return is a mystery since coach Jason Kidd is being as tight-lipped as the NSA about a timetable, but until then, the point guard spot seems to be in capable hands.
Shaun Livingston appears to have learned from filling in for Williams earlier this season, playing his second straight strong game in the Williams’ absence. And while Williams sat out Monday and got a cortisone shot and platelet-rich plasma injections in both ankles Tuesday, Brooklyn’s team doctor doesn’t expect him to need surgery or miss much time.
“I can’t divulge a ton, obviously, but what I can say about Deron is that he’s a worker. And I just think — as with our other player, Brook Lopez — has just suffered a little bit of bad luck in regard to his ankles,’’ Dr. Riley Williams said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “What I can say is that I don’t think there’s anything going on with him that’s a serious issue over the long-term, and the guy wants to play.
“Sometimes you’ve got to take a little more time and let things heal up a little more before you try to get back. But I don’t think there’s any serious concern about Deron over the long-term. We certainly don’t think he needs any serious procedure from us. Everything he has are things that should just heal up.’’
Until then, Livingston appears up to the task with consecutive solid outings in Williams’ stead, both Brooklyn wins. After scoring a dozen points on Monday, he added 13 more Wednesday against the Warriors with four rebounds and four steals.
“[Livingston] has accepted this role. He’s been doing it since training camp for us, so this isn’t new, due to all the injuries that we’ve had,” said Kidd, who wouldn’t say whether Williams will make next week’s trip to London. “But he’s been great offensively and defensively and running the show.
“We’ll just take it day-by-day and see how [Williams] feels. We hope with the treatments that he does feel better and we’ll go from there. … We’re going to take it day-by-day. There’s no timetable on when he’s going to come back.’’
Livingston beat Klay Thompson off the dribble for a thunderous dunk, and with the game knotted at 93-all with 1: 12 left, drew a foul against Stephen Curry and hit a free throw that gave the Nets the lead for good. They won their fourth straight and snapped the Warriors’ 10-game winning streak.
“The first time around, it gave me experience to see exactly what we need with him being out,’’ said Livingston. “I can have a better gauge of being more aggressive, attacking, putting pressure on the defense from the top so I can try to relieve some pressure from out scorers, Joe [Johnson] and Paul [Pierce].’’