EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Deron Williams’s mercurial postseason took another hairpin turn Sunday when his Nets teammate Joe Johnson let slip that Williams might be playing with “severe” tendinitis.
Johnson was not clear about where the tendinitis was located, although Williams has worn a brace on his right knee throughout the season. A Nets spokesman declined to comment on Johnson’s diagnosis, saying only that Williams had been healthy enough to play.
Johnson had been asked whether he thought criticism of Williams’s play this series against the Atlanta Hawks was fair after Coach Lionel Hollins delivered an impassioned defense of Williams, a veteran point guard who has scored 5 points in the last two games.