Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams has been a regular member of the Nets’ rotation since coming to the team two years ago in a trade from the Memphis Grizzlies. Brooklyn had been using Williams is one of the best perimeter defenders on the team, but he received his first “did not play” during his two seasons with the team and head coach Jordi Fernandez explained why.
“No, it was just my decision. I wanted to challenge him with his defense. Last year, he was elite at a lot of the things that we care [about] defensively, from ball pressure to deflections, to pick-and-roll defense to defending isolations,” Fernandez said after Monday’s 113-100 loss to the New York Knicks. Williams, who had not been listed on the injury report prior to the game, ended up not playing, even when both teams emptied the benches deep in the fourth quarter.
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“He was huge [last season]. I haven’t felt that energy, and then I can go through the numbers, and they were not there,” Fernandez continued while discussing Williams’ benching. “So, I challenged him to do it. I wasn’t all the way happy with the last two games, and I just gave the chance to J-Will [forward Jalen Wilson], who has always been ready. Whether I play him more or less, he’s always been there for his teammates.”
Williams, 24, came into Monday’s game against the Knicks averaging 9.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 38.1% from the field and 30.3% from three-point land. However, it seems that Fernandez’s issue with Williams has little to do with his offensive output and more with his effort on the defensive end of the floor for a Nets team that needs defensive playmakers.
For context, Williams is averaging 2.9 deflections and 4.9 contested shots per game while his numbers in those categories last season were 2.7 deflections and 3.8 contested shots per contest. Fernandez noted that Williams’ defensive performance is being evaluated in every way outside of just deflections and contested shots so time will tell when Williams will be back in the rotation.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Jordi Fernandez explains Ziaire Williams not playing vs. Knicks