After struggling in the first half the 2012-13 season, Deron Williams received cortisone injections in his depleted ankles, and went on a special diet to lose weight. The more-svelte figure, and the steroid shots eased the tension and pain in his the ankles and he had a much better second half. But now he’s sprained his right ankle again, which is bad news for the title aspirations of the $100 million payroll of the Nets.
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Williams injured the ankle while working out in his summer home in Utah:
“The star point guard suffered a right ankle sprain and a bone bruise while working out recently in Utah — where he maintains a home — leaving Williams in a walking boot. He should be ready for training camp, which starts on Oct. 1 at Duke University.”
Last year, the Nets diagnosed Williams with an inflammation in both his ankles after playing through pain to end the 2011-12 season and the 2012 Olympics in London. The ankle synovitis, as it’s called, was so painful Williams underwent three rounds of cortisone shots before the last steroid injection finally worked over All-Star weekend. He returned healthier and with less pain and shot 7 percentage points higher from the field while also seeing a spike from 16.7 PPG before the break to 22.9 after, per NBA.com.
But there’s no telling what this latest setback will do for Williams, who will be in a walking boot until camp opens in October. New coach Jason Kidd expects Williams to bounce back and average double-digit assists next year while leading a refurbished Nets team now featuring Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko.
Nets Center Brook Lopez is also recovering from his third surgery in 18 months. This time it’s to remove a screw in his right foot, the same foot injury that kept him out of all but 5 games during the woeful 2011-12 Nets season — their last in New Jersey.
If the Nets are serious about contending for a title, Williams and Lopez’s health is essential, so keep an eye on both of them in training camp. It might make sense to hold them back for a while until the season starts because there’s no telling what prolonged pain will do to the top two remaining Nets from last season’s team.
Do you think D-Will’s ankle will limit him during the 2013-14 season?
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