Nets Notebook: Williams undergoes cleanse, Johnson better
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Deron Williams says he has not changed his diet, but during his week off before the All-Star break he underwent a three-day cleanse to rid his body of bad toxins.
It seemed appropriate after averaging 16.7 points while shooting 41.3 percent in the first half.
Combined with a third round of cortisone injections for his injured ankles, Williams heads into tonight’s game in Charlotte on one his best stretches of the season, though he was 4-of-12 Saturday in Chicago and has committed 28 turnovers in seven games since the All-Star break.
“I did it when I was hurt,” Williams said after Tuesday’s practice while wearing a “Running Sucks” T-shirt. “I think it helps your energy and gets a lot of the bad toxins out of your system.”
Though Williams said he has not changed his diet, interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo seems to think otherwise based on his point guard’s recent appearance.
“Right now, he’s really made a strong move addressing diet,” Carlesimo said. “I remember we were at a dinner the other night and he was drinking that cleanse stuff. He’s lost some weight in the week off [and] I think it helped him. He looks good. He looks very good.”
Besides the cleanse, perhaps an even more significant reason for Williams averaging 21.7 points 7.1 assists, shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range and 43.8 percent overall is a renewed good feeling in his ankles.
“My ankles don’t hurt,” Williams said. “We finally got the injections in the right spot. I feel a little better. I can actually go up and down stairs. I can run around with my kids. I can go to the playground with them. I don’t hurt every time I take a step.”
As for dunking, don’t count on that happening. William attempted to dunk on Clippers center Blake Griffin late in the first quarter and had his shot emphatically blocked.
“I can dunk,” Williams said. “I don’t know [about dunking]. I’m nervous.”
Johnson feeling better
Joe Johnson has scored 11 points and shot 10-of-22 in two games since returning from his heel injury. In those games, he was not necessarily 100 percent and has been using a combination of ice and treatment to improve his condition.
“I’m right there,” Johnson said. “I just got to do what I need to do to treat my body right and to be ready to perform, so we’ll see.”
Now that Johnson is feeling somewhat better, he says the next priority is to fix the constant issue of playing poorly in specific quarters. In their last two games, the Nets gave up a 29-14 third-quarter run to Dallas and a 26-12 second quarter at Chicago.
“I have no idea [why it happens],” Johnson said. “It’s been a carbon copy pretty much the whole season. We have a little run where we’ve been playing good in the third quarter but the majority of the time our third quarters has really dictated the game for us. We have to get to the drawing board or just try to make somewhat of a difference.”
Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.
