D-Will Has Advice For Gerald Wallace's Recent Woes
Deron Williams spoke after practice today and gave a few words of advice for his teammate Gerald Wallace and his “confidence” issues.
STOP TALKING TO THE MEDIA ABOUT IT!
Williams is one person who can totally relate to what Wallace is going through as he went through a similar funk early in the season. He decided that not speaking about it with the media and just going about his job was the best thing to do.
He was right and has played like the elite point guard the Nets signed to a a 5/yr $98 extension this summer ever since and it didn’t hurt that D-Will had PRP therapy to help his ailing ankles either.
Not talking to the media about his injuries helped him focus more and it has worked well.
Wallace is having his worst statistical season by far shooting 40 percent from the field and a putrid 29 percent from three-point range. His eight point scoring average is the lowest since his third year in Sacramento (03/04) but he is not known to be a scorer but a guy who will do all of the little things to help teams win.
Those “little plays” are not happening lately and it is seen by all Nets fans as well as his teammates when he passes up open shots and hangs his head.
Regardless of injuries, which Wallace has plenty of from his type of play, he has to stop letting outside forces get into his head and push through this tough time as the Nets will need him come playoff time.
Conversely, Wallace started out well after re-signing with the Nets for four years and $40 million, but has struggled in 22 games since the All-Star break, averaging just 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. His shooting percentage post-break is down to just 33.8 percent, including 14.9 percent from 3-point range.
“He needs to stop talking about it, just like I had to stop talking about my injuries and my shooting with you guys,”Deron Williams said after practice on Monday at PNY Center. “It just weighs on you. You come in every day and you gotta hear about why you’re missing shots, it’s gonna start creeping in your head. That’s why I don’t talk about my injuries and I don’t like to talk about shooting with you guys and that’s why I feel like he shouldn’t either.”
Over his last four games, Wallace has scored a total of just 12 points while shooting 5-for-14 from the field. In the win Saturday over the Bobcats, he did not attempt a shot.
Wallace remains arguably the Nets’ best perimeter defender, which means despite the lack of offensive production, it is very likely he will continue to start and get crunch time minutes. However, the shooting is something that needs to be fixed sooner than later.
