Deron Williams: 'My ankles don't hurt'

Good news, Nets fans. According to Deron Williams, his ankles are feeling much better and, in fact, they "don't hurt."

While speaking with the media today, Williams updated them on his ankles saying that they finally got the cortisone shots in the "right place," which is... good to hear.

From Mike Mazzeo of ESPN:

"We finally got the injections in the right spot, and they feel a little bit better. I can actually walk up and down stairs and run around with my kids. I can go to the playground with them. I don't have to hurt every time I take a single step. So, yeah, I feel a lot better. I can dunk."

Wait, what? That's... amazing.

For Williams, who has yet to dunk in a game this season, while he says that he can dunk, he's not quite sure he's ready to. He's, well, "nervous" about attempting a dunk. That's understandable, I suppose.

Look, a bucket is a bucket, so whether he lays it in or dunks it, the takeaway is that he feels better and that his ankles "don't hurt."

In other Williams-related news, he did speak to P.J. Carlesimo, according to Stefan Bondy, about shortening his halftime speeches, allowing the team to have extra time to get warmed up before the third quarter. This, in an attempt to correct their third quarter woes.

While it was a thoughtful attempt by Williams, the shortening of the halftime speech "didn't work."

"It didn’t really work," Williams said. "I just think it’s a mentality. Teams come out and I think they know we’ve struggled in thrid quarters and they come at us a little bit tougher and we’ve gotta do a better job of responding and fighting back."

In order for the Nets to really make a push at the Atlantic title they do have to figure out how to get over that third quarter struggle. Maybe the shortening of the halftime speech didn't work, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be searching for some other solution.

• Deron Williams of Brooklyn Nets says he is feeling better, claims he can dunk - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Nets still struggling in third quarter - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• With the Nets struggling in 3rd quarters, Deron Williams asked PJ Carlesimo to shorten his halftime speeches: "It didn't work." - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Deron Williams feels bettter/lighter after detoxifying his body - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
  
• Deron: My ankles don’t hurt - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Nets' Deron Williams is pain-free and his game shows it - Rod Boone - Newsday
  
• Deron criticizes 'slipping' Nets defense - Brian Lewis - New York Post