Nets Changing Offense to Fit Deron Williams

One of the concerns about New Jersey acquiring DWill is how he’ll get along with Avery Johnson. So far, so good, especially with the fiery head coach being willing to toss out most of his playbook. The Star-Ledger reports: “The fans chanted his name, plus a few even chanted ‘M-V-P!’ when he shot free throws in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns. His coach? He put in an entirely new offense for his new point guard. ‘It was a good welcome for Deron to our team and our organization,’ coach Avery Johnson said after the Nets’ 104-103 overtime loss. ‘He really felt at home out there.’ Before the game, Johnson had said he would put things in the playbook that Williams was more familiar with and had success with in Utah. Given the fact the Nets are the second-lowest scoring team in the league (92.9 points per game) the coach didn’t sound particularly broken up about having to make dramatic changes. ‘I’m anticipating probably half our playbook we’ll have to throw out,’ Johnson said. ‘That’s okay … because a lot of what we were doing doesn’t even fit (Williams’) game.’ It wasn’t until after the game that Johnson revealed just how much he had changed the team’s offense. ‘We put in a whole new offense (Monday) morning,’ he said. ‘I never put in an offense on the day of the game and it worked so good. It was basically something that he’s familiar with. Hopefully we’ll just keep growing, keep learning and make some plays.'”