When Ziaire Williams fell on his back in the Brooklyn Nets loss to the San Antonio Spurs, it looked bad. He did not return and post-game, Jordi Fernandez noted that the fall was a rough one and indeed, the 24-year-old didn’t play in the next two games vs. the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks, out with what the Nets called a “contusion.”
Now, though, Williams has revealed he has a “small, very minor” back fracture. Speaking at a Nets promotional event Thursday in Manhattan, he told reporters that
while he will have to deal with pain management, he hopes to back on the court soon despite the fracture. Indeed, his hope is to return Sunday when the Nets host the 76ers in Brooklyn.
“It locked up on me,” Williams told Andrew Crane of The Post at a Raising Cane’s event in Times Square to promote a 2,741-pound carved pumpkin. “… But it’s something that can’t get worse. So at this point, it’s just a pain tolerance thing, so as soon as the pain just goes down, it’s never gonna be perfect at least right now.
“But as long as it’s just enough for me to get through it, and defensive slides and stuff, then I’ll play.”
The game before he fell, vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 6’9” 3-and-D wing had had one of his best games at a pro, putting up 25 points in 27 minutes off the bench, hitting 9-of-13 shots overall, including 6-of-9 from deep, both career-high-tying numbers. The performance also justified Jordi Fernandez’s praise of Williams development over the the summer.
How much will he be able to play going forward is as questionable as his official status for Sunday’s contest when the Nets will try to win their first game of the season and indeed since April 8 of last season. Williams thinks he saw some hope watching the Nets lose to the Hawks.
“It’s just about putting it together for 48 minutes, cutting down the bleeding,” Williams said. “We’ve been down 15, 20 points, so watching film and seeing what we could do better to stop those runs, when we play with desperation, we’re pretty good, man. We apply a lot of pressure, get guys to turn the ball over and shooting bad shots.
“So we just gotta just figure out how can we do that from the jump,” Williams said.
Also on hand for the Raising Cane event was Terance Mann who also spoke to Crane about the Nets difficulties but also the growing role he’s playing with the younger Nets as Fernandez played him at point guard, not the 6’6” 29-year-old’s normal position.
“I mean, [Fernández] warned me that it might be that,” Mann told The Post of his role this season. “In some games, I might have to be on-ball. Some games, I might have to be off the ball, so I’m kinda ready for whatever.”
As Crane noted:
To start the third quarter, Mann either scored or assisted on six of the Nets’ first eight baskets while also adding a steal — helping trim their deficit from 13 to six. And late in the fourth quarter, after checking back in as part of Brooklyn’s closing group, Mann fueled the Nets’ comeback attempt by driving into the paint and dishing a pass to Martin on the right wing for a 3-pointer.
He finished with six assists and five boards to go with his 11 points.
“Terance has a good overall feel for the game,” Fernández said Wednesday. “He does a little bit of everything, and I like when he’s aggressive and he gets assists when he gets to the rim and he sprays the ball.”
In the last two games, vs. the Rockets and Hawks, Mann, the team’s only Brooklyn native, has scored 32 points in 53 minutes, shooting 13-of-20 overall and 4-of-9 from deep. He also brings a veteran presence, being the team’s oldest player. More than that, though, Mann feels he can bring energy and be a player capable of filling a number of slots.
“Just being able to bring that energy,” Mann said. “That’s kinda what I feel like my role could be on this team. It’s only game five. That was only game five, so just feeling it out, seeing what I need to bring to the team. [Wednesday] night, it was assists.”
- Ziaire Williams suffers ‘minor’ back fracture but is nearing Nets return – Andrew Crane – New York Post
- Veteran Terance Mann proving on-ball value among Nets youth movement – Andrew Crane – New York Post
