ESPN: Nets D-Will Ranked 5th In Point Guard Poll

Deron Williams had a rough season last year with a myriad of injuries and he also did not allow his body to heal correctly from a summer playing in the Olympics.

He stepped up his game midway through the year after receiving PRP treatment on his ankles prior to the All-Star break and played more like the D-Will we all know and love in the second half.

This season should be completely different with the added pieces that Brooklyn has brought in to take the pressure off Williams being the focal point of the offense all the time.

The additions of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko alone should allow for Williams to play a bit more off the ball, take the pressure off of scoring and with new coach Jason Kidd more in tune with his All-Star point guard than previous coaches – the sky is the limit.

This should be a breakout year for Williams and his team knows it and they already have visions of an MVP type year for their point guard.

This ESPN poll uses WARP, wins above replacement level,  to accounts for a player’s efficiency, volume of production and team context.

[quote_simple]ESPN

5. Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets

Projected 2013-14 WARP: 9.9

With the change in talent around him, Williams will be one of the most intriguing players to watch in the coming season. In his best years in Utah, Williams was an assist machine, but, as a Net, he initially took on a heavy scoring load and his efficiency dropped off the map. Last season, with Brooklyn’s roster improved, Williams’ usage rate returned to previous levels, and his shooting percentages recovered accordingly. However, his assist rate was his lowest since his rookie season. Williams’ turnovers also were down, so he simply had the ball less.

With so much talent and so many alpha personalities on the new Nets, Williams can either be more of a cog in the machine or he can become its operator. Given the on-court proclivities of his new coach, Jason Kidd, I’m going to guess it’s going to be the latter. If Williams can return to his days of double-digit assists, it will be a sign the new mix in Brooklyn is working.

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