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Mike Mazzeo: D-Will did get a cortisone shot before the season and said he'd need offseason surgery. Perhaps we should've expected this. #Nets Twitter @MazzESPN

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Injuries 

Rod Boone: Asked Deron about Jerry Colangelo's comments. Said he didn't want to get into them, but he did say he's spoken with Jerry since. #Nets Twitter @rodboone

Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams 

But there's a lot more to the numbers than the who and the what. They're about how James consistently finds ways to dominate and why Lopez has thrived and Williams has struggled. STATS LLC's SportVU tracking cameras, which record every on-court movement in three dimensions, aren't here to simply tell us that the Heat have the league's most lethal weapon. They're here to tell us how that weapon takes over almost every time it takes the court. As the league takes a breather and prepares for its 62nd annual All-Star game this weekend, now is as good a time as any to take a look back. The Heat are not one of the 15 NBA teams that subscribe to the system, but with half the league on board, SportVU has tracked James for 10 games as of Feb. 14. It's a small sample to go off - just 20 percent of Miami's games - but James has scored 1.14 points every time he drives to the basket, tied for the most in the league. As a team, the Heat average 1.64 points when the reigning MVP takes the ball toward the hole - the fourth-best individual-to-team success rate in the NBA. NBA.com

Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Statistics 

A look at Williams' lack of productivity on drives gives a good indication why he's struggling - and perhaps this week's revelation that he's been dealing with ankle issues only confirms it for a guard whose game is built on getting in the paint. Williams has averaged 0.39 points per drive in 12 SportVU games, which puts him 150th in the league - ahead of only John Lucas III and Mario Chalmers among point guards. As a team, the Nets average 1.04 points when Williams heads to the hole, a quarter-point less than the Spurs get on Tony Parker's drives and nearly a half-point less than the Lakers get from Steve Nash's. NBA.com

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Statistics 

Colangelo was quoted in Saturday's Daily News of New York as saying that the Brooklyn Nets point guard ''was not in the best shape'' and ''a little overweight'' last summer. The headline for the story said Colangelo called Williams ''unfit.'' ''I said a lot of things which basically said, look, our players are better off with us, we take care of our players, they're important assets, and on and on and on,'' Colangelo said. Yahoo! Sports

Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams, USA Basketball 

''And I said and by the way, he wasn't in the best of shape, and that's true, because if you remember he didn't even practice with us the first week because of contract and so forth. I certainly never said he was unfit to play USA Basketball.'' Yahoo! Sports

Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams, USA Basketball 

On Saturday, Stefan Bondy quoted Colangelo in a Daily News story headlined, "Brooklyn Nets star Deron Williams unfit at Olympics, according to USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo." Colangelo told Bondy, "Deron Williams, for the Olympics, was not in the best shape. He was a little overweight, and I told him that at the time." Early Sunday, after the AP report, Bondy posted audio from his interview with Colangelo. Colangelo said he would talk to Williams, a fellow University of Illinois product. ''My plan is to give Deron a call and tell him exactly what took place,'' Colangelo told AP. ''It wasn't meant to embarrass him at all.'' NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams, USA Basketball 

In response to Bayless question, Is it possible that the ball moves better without Deron Wiliams in the lineup? Jerry Stackhouse: There you go. I'm not... (much shouting) We've had some young guys who are more distributors than Deron. I mean C.J. Watson, he's a shooter, but he's deferring more to Joe in these last couple of games. You're seeing that in Tyshawn. He's a playmaker. You're seeing different styles. And obviously Joe has had a couple of big games since Deron's been out. But we've got to find a way for them to figure it out together, because they got to be on the court together. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Jerry Stackhouse 

Deron Williams was out of shape before aggravating an ankle injury in the Olympics that has hindered his first season in Brooklyn, USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo told the Daily News. The Nets have maintained their injured point guard’s body is worn down because of nonstop playing over the last two summers — which led to PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections in both ankles this week — but Colangelo indicated Williams needed the work to lose weight. “Deron Williams, for the Olympics, was not in the best shape,” Colangelo told The News on Friday. “He was a little overweight, and I told him that at the time.” New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams, USA Basketball 

It’s unclear when Williams aggravated his ankle injury at the Olympics, but he left London with his second gold medal while averaging nine points and 4.6 assists and shooting 39%. “I feel close to Deron, both from being from Illinois, and (from when) he was playing at Illinois . . . so I think I know him pretty well,” Colangelo said. “He’s a heck of a player, great guy, made a real contribution to USA Basketball and if he decides that he can’t participate because of his own health conditions, I’ve got a list a mile long of people who want to play. “We take care of our players,” he added. “Nobody is going to get hurt because they play for USA Basketball. Just the opposite.” New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams, USA Basketball 

Amid speculation that Williams has also been slowed by weight gain, King said the three-time All-Star is just one pound heavier than when he was dealt from Utah. “You’re digging. You’re digging. And you’re asking valid questions, but (the inflammation to Williams’ ankles) is not a concern,” King said. “Kobe (Bryant) has had the blood-platelet spinning on his knees, and guys have had it. It happens. So let’s not make this a bigger issue than it is. Let’s let him get through this, have a week off and get back to playing basketball. Let’s not put the dirt on him and say his career’s over at 28. New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Billy King 

“I think the same questions were asked last year about Carmelo Anthony when they were struggling and people were writing him off, saying is he’s not the same player. I think he bounced back this year.” New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Billy King 

King said Williams will spend the rest of the week resting and working out in a pool in order to keep off his ankles as much as possible. King said he hopes the rest will help rejuvenate Williams’ game after the break. “It has been bothering him all year,” King said. “We were going to do it at the All-Star break and we talked to the doctors and Deron and it was like, ‘Why don’t we give him the full week so we can do it and give him a full week and time to recover.’ So we decided to do it [Sunday] night.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Injuries 

Deron Williams never understood how guys could lose confidence on a basketball court. That is, until he started losing his confidence on the basketball court. And the idea that his Nets -- a team of veterans, put together to handle the glare of Brooklyn and the rest of New York City -- could be so up and down never seemed possible. "I'm pretty surprised," he said Friday, after the Nets were beaten by the Wizards, and not by accident. "I thought we had gotten past that, when we had that seven-game win streak. But it's all a process. We're still a new team. This is our first year together. We still make mistakes. We still have some things to figure out at both ends of the floor, if we want to be considered an elite team." NBA.com

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams 

Howard Beck: Deron Williams will miss next 2 games, Nets say, due to synovitis in both ankles. Got PRP treatment today. Expected back after All-Star. Twitter @HowardBeckNYT

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Injuries 

Ric Bucher: Looking forward to watching Nets-Spurs to see if, as almost every scout/GM I talk to contends, Deron Williams has become a diva of the first order. Now, I'm told, when a teammate misses a shot or blows an easy dime far too many times Deron can be seen rolling his eyes or staring at the bench as if to say, "Can you believe that?" Sulia

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams 

If so, he wasn't always that way; at least I never heard of the Jazz having those kind of problems and other teams certainly didn't see him in that light. If anything, they admired that while he was accepted by the CP3/LeBron/Wade/Melo group he made a point of standing on his own. I made the case that I'd take Deron over CP3 their early years in the league because of Deron's size and better shooting range, but if all I'm hearing is true, the difference in floor generalship could be too much to ignore. One game won't prove anything definitive, but I hope I'm wrong; the idea of the Knicks and Nets going head-to-head is as good as the Lakers and Clippers battling for the bragging rights of L.A., and Deron is too important to making the Nets viable to become a peacock and not impair their potential. Sulia

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams 

Why has Howard fallen from the ranks of the NBA's most dominant players? "I think he got a negative perception the last year-and-a-half, going through the free-agency process," Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams said Sunday, two days before the Nets- Lakers showdown at Barclays Center. "So I think that's a lot of it. And then, two, he's been hurt. Last year, he was hurt, played through a lot of injuries with his back. "I can attest to what that does for your confidence and how you play, so I think that's the main two reasons. But I think once he gets healthy, and they start winning again, people will start talking about him the way they were." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams 

It’s not in Brooklyn, but Brooklyn Nets star Deron Williams’ new trophy apartment is just over the Brooklyn Bridge in TriBeCa. Williams has purchased a 6,800-square-foot penthouse loft at the uber-posh 35 North Moore St. for $15.8 million. The six-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom residence in the Merchant’s House condo conversion, a building that dates back to 1905, also features a sprawling 3,000 square feet of outdoor space. New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams 

Rod Boone: Deron isn't participating in this morning's shootaround, but he's still listed as probable for tonight's game vs. #Heat. Twitter @rodboone

Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Injuries