March 19th, 2010
Numbers Not Enough for T-Will & CD-R
For Terrence Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the numbers were there on Wednesday: 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for T-Will, and 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting for CD-R. But their performances lacked the letter reward they sought, as the Nets’ took an ‘L’ against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The two swingmen rank among the most introspective interviews on the team, perceptive and often analyzing out loud what another player might blow by with brevity. Discussing his first start since Lawrence Frank was head coach, Williams whipped out the wet blanket – a 4-for-16 shooting performance and mediocre defense that allowed Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala to put up 20 points (7-14 FGs) and eight assists.
“I think I played horribly,” Williams said. “Some people may look at it as: 13 points, 7 rebounds and think it’s a good outcome, but not for me. I know what I’m capable of doing and what I was doing in the past. The last two games, I’ve been shooting the ball horribly, and I let Andre Iguodala get too many easy shots (on Wednesday).”
While Williams might be correct about his last outing, he’s selling short the stretch that earned him the starting nod. In the Nets’ last six games, the rookie is averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting .436 (34-78) in 30 minutes. Nets coach and general manager Kiki Vandeweghe deemed it time to see how well the point forward’s production translated from the tipoff, even if it slows the bench players to a more plodding, halfcourt-oriented pace.
“(Terrence) give us another ballhandler, another guy to run pick-and-rolls – which allows me to play a little more off the ball,” said Nets point guard Devin Harris. “It’s another guy running the wing, another attacker. We’ve got a shooter in Courtney Lee, and with Yi (Jianlian) back, that spaces the floor for another driver to get in the paint.”
Meanwhile, Williams praised Douglas-Roberts, calling the second-year player a true professional and mentioning him as someone who could ably fill Williams’ former role as second-unit sparkplug. Williams continued on to say that Douglas-Roberts had the talent to start, citing Wednesday’s performance, and would complement other bench players like Jarvis Hayes, whom Williams believes “can shoot with the best of them.”
Douglas-Roberts admits that it’s been a long adjustment since opening the season by averaging 16.4 PPG for the first two months (23 games). But he’s now focused on trying his best to play free and easy, without allowing anything to affect him on-court. Vandeweghe felt Douglas-Roberts did so, praising his aggressiveness and willingness to start with defense.
Yet with the end of the season just 14 games away, neither wants anything to do with individual goals – barring improvement that helps the team snag that ever-elusive ‘W’.
“For the team, I just want to win three games,” Douglas-Roberts said. “Plain and simple. We’ve got to get three wins out of these last 14. Cut and dried, just like that.”
Yi's Ankle OK For Saturday
Yi Jianlian practiced fully, the first time he’d done so since suffering a high ankle sprain against the Knicks on March 6. He said he’d been doing a lot of running and conditioning in recent days, and that he expects to play tomorrow against the Raptors.
Vandeweghe called Yi “probable” and said that the third-year forward would start if he played, making the likely lineup Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams, Yi and Brook Lopez.
“(I) feel good,” Yi said. “In the beginning, it still felt a little bit sore. But once I loosened up, it was nothing.”
Long Five Games for Lopez
In the Nets’ last five games, the Nets have struggled to stay competitive at times, largely because center Brook Lopez is struggling through one of his roughest stretches this season. The second-year center has posted a five-game line of 15.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting .414 – all well below his season averages.
“Teams have been a little bit more aware; he’s the focal point of the offense now,” said point guard Devin Harris. “His catches aren’t as deep as they were earlier in the year. It’s on both myself and him – it’s a partnership in that way. When he has deep position, we need to get the ball whether we have an open shot or not. He’s our focal point in the paint, and first and foremost, we have to get him going and then try to get the rest of the guys going. That’s the approach we’ve got to take.”
--Posted by Ben Couch at 5:51 p.m.
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