Avery Johnson spoke to reporters in Denver Tuesday about Deron Williams' comments on leadership and frustration. Williams had told reporters following Monday's game, "I gotta do a better job of leading these guys. They can't see me visibly frustrated, because that's not good for anybody's confidence."
For Johnson, the comments were welcome and he said he and D-Will had spoken before the Hawks game about the issue, specifically his point guard's body language. "Anybody that’s in a leadership role, a lot of times it’s not always what you say, but it’s what people see." Johnson told reporters that after the discussion, he felt Williams had shown a better attitude and it helped the team's performance. Johnson ripped into all his players at a practice in Denver late Tuesday, calling them out on their defensive performance.
Their next test will be Wednesday night when the Nets open a four-game western swing vs. the Nuggets.who are 6-4 but have lost two straight. The Nets will get a good look at Nene, their top free agent target who decided to stay in Denver for $69 million over five. His numbers are a little below those of Kris Humphries, who signed a one year deal at $8 million. Nene has been slowed by a sore heel. For the Nets, DeShawn Stevenson (knee) and Damion James (foot) are out. Mehmet Okur (back) is a game-time decision, but he's more likely to play than not.
- New Jersey Nets Game Notes - New Jersey Nets
- Denver Nuggets Game Notes - Denver Nuggets
- Getting Inside - New Jersey Nets - Sports Xchange
- Getting Inside - Denver Nuggets - Sports Xchange
- Nets-Nuggets Preview - Noey Kulchan - Stats LLC
- Nets get Deron Williams’ input, but need to get better offensive output - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Avery rips into ‘D’-ficient Nets - Fred Kerber - New York Post
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Nets, Williams seeking answers - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Nets' Deron Williams tries to keep positive image as struggles continue - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
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Nets' Williams says he'll curb bad body language - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Avery Address a Few Topics - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets
- Corey Brewer is big off the Denver Nuggets' bench - Christopher Dempsey - Rocky Mountain News