NBA

Nets hope for repeat Deron revival after new ankle injections

The pain and frustration got to the Nets’ Deron Williams last season. Williams could not jump, he could not dunk — minor points if you hang wallpaper for a living, big deals if you play basketball. So basketball player Deron Williams sought — and found — relief in cortisone shots and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections.

And with more sprains, pain and frustration this season, Williams again has taken a similar path to ease discomfort.
The Nets announced Tuesday Williams again has been treated with cortisone and PRP injections in both ankles. On Monday, Williams underwent an MRI that revealed a sprained left ankle. So it was back to the needle — which last season served up three different sets of cortisone shots — and the centrifuge for the PRP injections. Both remedies were used for his right ankle as well.

Williams is out for Wednesday’s game at Barclays Center against the rampaging Warriors. He was placed in a walking boot and will be re-evaluated at the end of the week. If history is a guide, Williams likely will miss Friday at home against the Heat and Saturday’s game in Toronto. The Nets play in London Jan. 16, a game that undoubtedly the NBA desires Williams play in, but his status is up in the air.

Williams underwent the PRP treatment last season just before the All-Star break and returned to play a game nine days after his previous outing. He played Feb. 10 and sat Feb. 11 and 13 as well as through the break, before playing Feb. 19.

“I feel like the shots have helped a lot,” Williams said a week after his return last season following the PRP injections, which use the patient’s own blood to facilitate healing. “My ankle is starting to feel better. That’s been the biggest thing, trying to get healthy.”

The more things change and all that. Saturday, Brook Lopez, out for the season, underwent surgery to rebuild his broken foot. Through 34 games, the 13-21 Nets have lost 75 manpower games to injury, used 16 different starting lineups and are on pace to lose 181 manpower games. As creaky as that sounds, there have been worse seasons: In 2000-01, they lost 345 manpower games.

“I’ve never been on a team or seen a team go through all the injuries we’ve gone through,” said coach Jason Kidd, who incidentally arrived with the Nets the season after 2000-01. “From the summer to today’s date, there have been a lot of injuries and it just shows how deep we are, the character we have in that locker room to compete.”

After leading Brooklyn to wins over the Thunder and Cavs, Williams missed his 12th game this season Monday when the Nets defeated the Hawks 91-86.

The Nets statement said: “Williams was treated with a cortisone shot in the (left) ankle joint, as well as platelet rich plasma injections into the lateral ligaments of the ankle.” Also, he received “a PRP injection into his right ankle and a cortisone injection into his right ankle joint to relieve inflammation.”

So the Nets are hoping for a similar reaction to last season, when Williams was renewed following the treatments.

“They said a week was sufficient, so I trust the doctors,” Williams said a year ago, the day before his first game back after his PRP injections.

“It’s definitely affected me a lot,” he said then. “I can’t jump. I haven’t dunked. I can’t dunk. Even if I tried off one leg, I can’t dunk. So it’s definitely affected me.

“You think about it, when I’m going into the lane and make a move, a hard jump-stop hurts. Any hard impact, or hard move, it hurts. It’s definitely been a concern, that’s a big reason I did the PRP.”

Additional reporting by Tim Bontemps