Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports Images
The Brooklyn Nets already have their spot in the NBA Playoffs locked up and are close to clinching the four-seed in the Eastern Conference, holding a three-game lead over the Chicago Bulls with just five games remaining in the regular season. Though they haven’t been the most exciting team to watch, they’ve definitely had a good deal of success this year.
Deron Williams has obviously been a big part of the winning they’ve done this season, especially over the past few weeks. At the start of the season, he was actually quite disappointing, which is why his season averages aren’t exactly impressive. On the year, Williams is averaging 18.6 points, 7.6 assists and three rebounds per game, but has shot just 43.8 percent from the field and only 37.8 percent from three.
Williams has turned up the heat for Brooklyn over the past couple of weeks, though, looking much more confident in his game and putting up great stats. Over the Nets’ last five games, Williams is averaging 23.6 points, 7.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. The most important part of what he’s done lately is that he is shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three over these last five contests.
The playoffs begin in just about two weeks, and the Nets need to be clicking on all cylinders if they want to get out of the first round and to even have a chance of pulling an upset in the second round. With Williams scoring and facilitating as well as he has over the Nets’ last five games, they have looked like a terrific team. If he can continue that type of play, Brooklyn can’t be entirely counted out.
Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
