Things are going from bad to worse in Brooklyn. The Nets have recorded their fourth straight loss and this time it was to the Charlotte Bobcats a team considered one of the worst in the NBA. There is a not an ounce of chemistry on that team as they struggle to find an identity amongst their $190 million pay roll. To top things off, injuries have plagued the team in recent games.
Prior to the start of the year, Deron Williams was considered the most important player on the roster despite the trades for players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The point guard had established that Brooklyn was his team and his overall health would make or break the season. So far it is breaking things as Williams went down last night with another ankle injury.
Williams was already suffering from an ankle injury that occurred during offseason workouts. He returned against Charlotte hoping to be healed, but instead went down injured again. Williams' stat line was small as he had recorded just four points and two assists prior to getting hurt. He was 1-for-5 in field goal shots before exiting and not returning. This just adds to the career-low season the point guard is putting together. Prior to Wednesday night, he has been averaging just 10 points and 6.5 assists per game.
Brooklyn has folded without Williams. Shaun Livingston is doing his best to make up for the All-Star's absence, but it just proves how important Williams is to the dynamic of the team. To top things off, Brook Lopez is out with an ankle injury after putting together MVP-like numbers in the first few weeks of the season. Brooklyn has lost seven of their last eight games and veteran Garnett is calling the outlook dismal for the team.
"No one's happy about how we're playing," Garnett said, via the New York Daily News. "No one likes the current state but everybody's willing and committed towards changing it. Obviously a part of it, a lot of it could have been frustration but it was immediate, just things that you thought you saw. Right after the game, you're fired up and still going with that same intensity and you're speaking how you're feeling. It's team building."
As the team starts to search for answers as to why things just keep getting worse, questions have arisen about the job security with head coach Jason Kidd. Currently signed to a three-year contract, some NBA scouts have criticized him for not going enough. Despite all of that, general manager Bill King says Kidd is going nowhere.
"Like I said before it's a long year. Yeah, we'd like to play a little better. Obviously, everybody would. It's not just management. It's ownership, it's players, coaches. We'd all like to play better," King said.