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Deron Williams Responds to Critics with Fury

By Sarah Yu

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Brooklyn Nets’ Deron Williams shut down all critics and criticism by playing like his former self during Game 4 of the first-round playoff series, on Monday night.

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Williams was on a full-drive from the beginning of the game to the very end. He started off with scoring three 3-pointers to total a number of 11 points in the first quarter. He was able to swiftly and easily pass by Atlanta Hawks’ small forward DeMarre Carroll, and boy, did he finish off the game with a bang.

By the fourth quarter, the Nets were down by eight points but Williams scored 13 points within the first five minutes of the period, cutting the gap and giving the team a five-point lead.

“I honestly don’t even know what happened,” Williams said to ESPN. “I just know the clock was winding down and I had to get a shot off. But it felt good as soon as it left my hand, though.”

To say that Head Coach Lionel Hollins was impressed with Williams’ performance is an understatement.

“The kid has overcome a lot of adversity, with the injuries and the negativity around his name,” he said to ESPN. “For him to come out and play this way showed a lot of character, for him to put on a performance like that. I’m excited for him and I’m excited how the team rallied around him as well. I thought it was a huge step in unity for our ballclub.”

His teammate, PG Jarrett Jack, saw that Williams was able to focus and handle the game very well and with consistency.

“He controlled the game from start to finish,” he said. “He was that guy, that I believe, and everyone in this locker room believes he is.”

Though mistakes on Atlanta’s part contributed to the final score, credit needs to be given where it’s due. Williams, the target of media criticism from analysts and former teammates, and suffering from tendonitis, pulled through and responded back appropriately and professionally.

Instead of firing back with words and criticism towards those who were extremely doubtful of his current performance as a professional basketball player, he proved them wrong by doing what he does well: playing basketball to his utmost best.

This is kind of energy and fury that Williams needs to have for the rest of the playoff season, no matter how far they get. If he performs with this kind of adversity and level of adrenaline, the Nets can and will win this series and possibly even more.

“People have a lot to say,” Williams said. “I’ll let them talk and try not to let it affect me as much as possible. I’ve got a lot of people that love me, and that’s the most important thing.”

Next: Takeaways from Game 4 Nets win?

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