Despite traveling to California with his teammates, Nets point guard Deron Williams has been ruled out for the duration of the team’s three-game west coast swing, the team announced Wednesday.
Williams has begun “on-court non-contact work,” but is still experiencing pain in his left side, according to the team. He sat out for Wednesday night’s contest against the Sacramento Kings, and will miss Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, and Saturday night against the Utah Jazz.
The Nets will issue an update on Williams “when his status changes.”
Williams first injured his side on January 4th, feeling what he called a “tweak” in the first quarter and a “cramp” in the fourth. Imaging studies came back negative the next day, and Williams played again on January 7th, only to leave in pain after four minutes. The Nets diagnosed Williams with a “fracture of the cartilage portion of the left 12th rib” the next day. He has not played or participated in an official practice since, only shooting or doing other non-contact drills.
Williams seemed perturbed with the team’s medical staff following the diagnosis, saying he thought it was “kind of weird” he had two rib injuries in the same game after never suffering a rib injury before. Williams was listed as “probable” before not playing on January 5th, then listed as “doubtful” before being activated on the 7th, adding to the confusion.
The Nets have lost eight of ten games since Williams’s initial injury.
