With just over thirty games played this season, the Brooklyn Nets did not expect themselves to be stuck in this situation. A record of merely 10-20 that sets them at third in the Atlantic Division and 12th in a weak Eastern Conference. The man leading this team that has fallen into this abysmal pit is Deron Williams.
Former competitor for the number one point guard in the league, three-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic Gold medalist are all a part of Williams' past, but presently he's spearheading a team that was once a contender. I'm not saying that its entirely his fault that this team has been unable to live up to the expectations coming out of the off-season. How much of the blame falls on Deron? Let's take a look.
In 29.5 minutes a game, Deron Williams is averaging 12.7 points (lowest since his rookie season), 7.2 assists (lowest since his rookie season), 0.8 steals (lowest since his rookie year), and 2.2 rebounds (career-low) a game. He's shooting a solid 46% from the field, 40% from three (highest since his rookie season), and 76.8% from the free throw line (lowest since his sophomore season).
Oh.
Maybe one could say that he's reaching near career-lows because of the decrease in minutes this season and the injury that he had to endure. So let's look at his per 36 numbers, a number we should probably expect Williams' minutes to rise to moving deeper into the season.
Per 36 minutes, Deron Williams is averaging 15.5 points (lowest since his rookie season's per 36), 8.7 assists (a whole assist better than last season), 1.0 steal a game (about his career-average), ad 2.6 rebounds per game (career-low in per 36).
So maybe he's just having a sub-par start to the season. What exactly does Deron Williams need to improve on?
For one, he's driving to the hoop less this season that he was the previous season. Last season he took about 33% of his shots within the paint. This season? Thirty-one percent of his shots are coming from within the paint. Merely 19% of shots come at the rim, where he's converting on a solid 57.9% of his shots.
Rather than taking advantage of his conversion success at the hoop, Deron has been shooting more jumpers than he should. He's taken a majority of the shots outside the paint and converted on a decent 43% of them.
Here's a quick look at his shot chart.
Deron Williams' defense has actually been decent this year so in that part of the game he should just keep it up.
The biggest upgrade that Williams has to do is to lead this team, take control, and find a way to win games. This team has quit or fallen back in so many games. While the blame spreads between the players and even the coach, Deron has to take lead as the team's point guard. He was brought into this team to be the face of the franchise, and part of that means becoming the leader of this team.
New Year's Resolution: Be more aggressive on offense (create opportunities closer to the hoop) and take charge of this team.
Happy New Year's everyone!
Follow @NetsTakeOver
Former competitor for the number one point guard in the league, three-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic Gold medalist are all a part of Williams' past, but presently he's spearheading a team that was once a contender. I'm not saying that its entirely his fault that this team has been unable to live up to the expectations coming out of the off-season. How much of the blame falls on Deron? Let's take a look.
In 29.5 minutes a game, Deron Williams is averaging 12.7 points (lowest since his rookie season), 7.2 assists (lowest since his rookie season), 0.8 steals (lowest since his rookie year), and 2.2 rebounds (career-low) a game. He's shooting a solid 46% from the field, 40% from three (highest since his rookie season), and 76.8% from the free throw line (lowest since his sophomore season).
Oh.
Maybe one could say that he's reaching near career-lows because of the decrease in minutes this season and the injury that he had to endure. So let's look at his per 36 numbers, a number we should probably expect Williams' minutes to rise to moving deeper into the season.
Per 36 minutes, Deron Williams is averaging 15.5 points (lowest since his rookie season's per 36), 8.7 assists (a whole assist better than last season), 1.0 steal a game (about his career-average), ad 2.6 rebounds per game (career-low in per 36).
So maybe he's just having a sub-par start to the season. What exactly does Deron Williams need to improve on?
For one, he's driving to the hoop less this season that he was the previous season. Last season he took about 33% of his shots within the paint. This season? Thirty-one percent of his shots are coming from within the paint. Merely 19% of shots come at the rim, where he's converting on a solid 57.9% of his shots.
Rather than taking advantage of his conversion success at the hoop, Deron has been shooting more jumpers than he should. He's taken a majority of the shots outside the paint and converted on a decent 43% of them.
Here's a quick look at his shot chart.
Deron Williams' defense has actually been decent this year so in that part of the game he should just keep it up.
The biggest upgrade that Williams has to do is to lead this team, take control, and find a way to win games. This team has quit or fallen back in so many games. While the blame spreads between the players and even the coach, Deron has to take lead as the team's point guard. He was brought into this team to be the face of the franchise, and part of that means becoming the leader of this team.
New Year's Resolution: Be more aggressive on offense (create opportunities closer to the hoop) and take charge of this team.
Happy New Year's everyone!
OTHER NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Kevin Garnett, Andray Blatche, Alan Anderson, Shaun Livingston, Tornike Shengelia, Jason Terry, Mason Plumlee, Reggie Evans, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Tyshawn Taylor, Mirza TeletovicFollow @NetsTakeOver
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