Nets' Deron Williams Will Start Again, Eventually

The Brooklyn Nets have started 2014 smoking hot, only to be calmed by the Toronto Raptors twice. In that time span, Deron has both missed games and come off the bench, but he has yet to start as a point guard since getting PRP injections in his ankles.

Apparently, just like there the Nets refuse to give deadlines for a players' return, the Nets are hush about when Williams could return to the starting lineup.

"We haven't even talked about it," Kidd said after practice. "We gave him and Joe [Johnson] rest days, so [Thursday] we'll see how they feel and see if we have time to get them with that first group." 

Williams first suggested coming off the bench when he came back against the Knicks. Since then, he's stated that he is willing to come off the bench if it helps the team. Since his return, Williams has hovered around 30 minutes a game, which is just about his season average. Stephen Haynes of Newsday reports that Joe Johnson said Williams is "kind of enjoying it."

"You only look at it because he's Deron and he's basically the franchise player, but he's in there in crunch time," Johnson said. "He told me . . . it gives him a chance to sit back and see how the game is being played, then he comes in and can put his stamp on it."

With a tough stretch of games coming up, which includes games against the Thunder, Pacers and Spurs, one would think Williams will be inserted back into the starting lineup soon. We were asked this question back in our mailbag, and a majority of us agreed that Williams would return back into the starting lineup when he felt he was ready. With Livingston playing well, a two-point guard starting lineup could pay dividends, considering how it worked the two games they did do that.


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