What's wrong with Deron Williams? No one seems to know

Deron Williams has now missed 19 straight field goals, after going 0-for-5 with four turnovers in 22 minutes in a losing effort against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. The former All-Star point guard continues to come off the bench for the Nets, which should, on paper, provide the Nets with a top-tier talent running the second unit. However, Williams is doing absolutely nothing to help the Nets win basketball games right now, and no one seems to know why.

As Stefan Bondy writes:

"I have no idea (what’s wrong with Williams)," said coach Lionel Hollins. "I feel bad for the kid because he’s trying and it’s just not happening."

Williams missed the morning shootaround because of an illness, but didn’t use that as an excuse after being benched for the entire fourth quarter.

"It’s not about me, it’s about the team. I have to do whatever I can," he said. "Obviously right now, it’s not enough. Just keep working at it. Hopefully, I’ll get it right."

Williams is having his worst statistical season as a pro and seems to now be a fixture on the Nets bench, thanks in part to the stellar play by Jarrett Jack.

There doesn't seem to be any indication that Williams is dealing with an injury -- or, at least a severe one -- since even he hasn't been able to point to any quick fix, telling the media after Monday's game that if he knew what was wrong he'd "fix it."

Jarrett Jack, right now, is keep the Nets afloat with his play, but there's no doubt that if they want to be taken seriously as a playoff-contender than they're going to need Williams to show up on a regular basis. Being a net-negative, as one of the team's leaders, isn't going to help them emerge from the bottom of the pack come mid-April.

The biggest problem right now is that no one seems to know what's wrong with Williams. Or, more, no one seems to know or want to articulate what's actually wrong.

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