D-Will’s shooting gives Nets a good shot

Added by Darius Amos on January 29, 2012.

Has anyone looked at the NBA standings lately, specifically the wins and losses in the watered-down East’s Atlantic Division? Yup, that’s not a mistake. Going into tonight’s game against the Raptors, the little brother New Jersey Nets were tied with the not-so-mighty Knicks from across the river. Who would have thought that in the beginning of the season, or even dreamed that was possible just last week?

Winners of four of their last six, the Nets are enjoying a mini surge in the standings and on the court. Granted that the teams they beat are sub-par (we’re talking Golden State, Charlotte and Cleveland), but they did score a quality victory over Philadelphia and went head-to-head with two of the league’s best in Chicago and OKC. And in each of those games, the Nets showed that they’re not a doormat franchise and that if they can maintain this level of play, they’re a legitimate contender for one of the final playoff spots in the East.

Yes, I’m going against everything I said in a previous post when I called the Nets pretenders, but that’s because of there are a handful of small changes taking place within the team. One of those changes is the team’s attitude, most notably that mindset of Deron Williams.

Last time out, I took a look at D-Will’s season numbers and noticed that the all-star point guard was shooting way more often than previous seasons, thus leading to a big dip in his shooting percentage. Like he was answering the bell, D-Will told Star-Ledger reporter Colin Stephenson that he wants to be “more selfish” with the ball, aka take more shots. It’s simple NBA math… more shots usually equals more points. That’s selfish, right?

The first and natural reaction to someone who says he wants to be selfish with the ball is “how dare he” or “sit that guy on the bench.” But then came a very telling statistic: the Nets were 5-0 (entering Sunday’s game against Toronto) when Williams scores at least 24 points. In all but one of the Nets’ wins, Williams was either the leader or tied for the lead in shots taken. And how about when he’s not leading the team in shots attempted? Well, the Nets are 1-5 in those games.

Without a legitimate second consistent scorer on the active roster or at least until Brook Lopez returns, perhaps shooting and scoring more isn’t such a bad idea for D-Will and the Nets. This game plan might impact the traditional point guard stats such as assists or assists per game, and it might result in fewer attempts for rising rookie MarShon Brooks and Anthony Morrow. But realistically, as this team readies to move to Brooklyn and potentially woo another star like Dwight Howard to town, winning is the only option right now.

With that said, everyone in the Nets organization seems to be on board with Williams’ shoot-first mentality – from the top brass down to the nitty gritty rebounder. In fact, Kris Humphries’ locker room exchange with D-Will following the Nets win over the Cavaliers last Friday showed just how the players feel.

“My other 12 teammates are telling me to shoot more,” Williams playfully called out to Humphries. “You should want a guy shooting 39 percent from the field to shoot more. More rebounds for you!”

Shouting distance away, Humphries called out to his point guard: “Offensive rebounds! Keep it up, Deron! I love it, man!” K-Humph, Mr. Double-Double, is averaging just under 11 boards a game.

D-Will is putting this team on his shoulders, but that doesn’t mean he’s playing the game alone. Along with Humphries, Morrow is getting better looks at the basket now that Williams is requiring more and more attention from defenders. Morrow dropped 22 against the Cavs while tying Williams in field goal attempts. And once Brooks returns to 100 percent after healing his sore Achilles, he should thrive under the D-Will offense, too.

We’ll see how long and how far the Nets can go powered by the D-Will shooting. They’re making strides, that’s for sure. At the very least, they’re looking much more like a team than the Blue and Orange in the Garden.

Just something of note: Nets visit the Knicks on Saturday. We’ll see who’s Big Brother and Little Brother this time.