D Will ruled out of next games against Miami and Toronto.
Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams will miss the team’s next two games and is questionable for the clash with the Atlanta Hawks on January 16.
Coach Jason Kidd revealed that Williams would be re-evaluated this weekend before a decision is made on whether or not he will travel with the team to London.
The 29-year-old has missed the last two games since spraining his left ankle, and will now miss 15 games so far this season as he continues to be plagued by the problem.
Williams has sprained his ankle three times this year, and received a cortisone shot in both ankle joints as well as platelet rich plasma injection in the lateral ligaments of both ankles to relieve inflammation.
It’s been a desperate year for the point guard who has suffered numerous setbacks, but he is still averaging 13.6 points, 6.9 assists and 30.2 minutes per game after looking impressive in his last two games of action before injury struck again.
The Nets have gone 2-0 in his absence with Alan Anderson starting in his place while Shaun Livingston handles point guard duties.
“It’s a team effort no matter who’s in and who’s out,” Kidd said, as reported by ESPN.
“We win and lose as a team. The guys all want Deron back here soon. It’s always the next guy up has to step up and we’ve been very lucky to have a deep team and guys are playing extremely hard.”
Shooting guard Joe Johnson admitted that the team does miss their influential point guard, but his absence will undoubtedly be an even bigger blow should he miss the trip to London.
The NBA has made a concerted effort to raise the profile of the game in the UK, with the New York Knicks beating the Detroit Pistons last year with the likes of Greg Monroe and Carmelo Anthony drawing in a sell-out crowd.
With Brook Lopez and Al Horford already suffering season-ending injuries, Williams’ absence would arguably be the biggest blow for the spectacle as he is still widely regarded as one of the best point guards in the league.
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