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| The (then) New Jersey Nets also visited London, playing the Raptors in a pair of March games there in 2011 |
The Brooklyn Nets' 2014 portion of their schedule: Five wins, one loss, and a lot of good basketball against some of the NBA's best teams. However, in Brooklyn's most recent game, a 16-point loss to Toronto on Saturday night in Canada, the new year didn't give off the same charm it had during the team's five-game winning streak.
Luckily, the disappointment stemming from the loss will be dissipated by the time Thursday's Nets' game at O2 Arena in London against the Raptors tips off. An early 3:00 pm tip for us still on Eastern Standard Time means a rare afternoon start-time for people watching the game in the States.
One key person who won't be in England, with the Nets, though: Deron Williams. D-Will, still dealing with the ankle injury that caused him to miss much of Brooklyn's winning streak, didn't make the trip with his team and will stay in the New York area resting up for when the Nets take on the Knicks at MSG on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
It makes sense that Deron wouldn't sit on a plane and go all the way across the pond to possibly re-injure his tenuous ankle. D-Will is worth much, much more to the Nets at 100 percent than he does at 80 percent, and risking that huge difference just for the slight bump in win probability they might receive with him being in action against Atlanta.
It's really unfortunate that Deron has been so injured and unable to contribute effectively for much of his Nets tenure, but that's just his reality at this point. When healthy, he can light up the scoreboard, make his teammates better, and help to win games. But he doesn't do much good when he's sitting on the bench, or is thousands of miles away from the game. Brooklyn will just have to make do without him, for now, at least until he's ready to play, and play well.
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