Alan Diaz/AP
Deron Williams posts 11 points and is effective from beyond the arc.
MIAMI — A lot slimmer than at this point last year and healthier than he thought possible just a week ago, Deron Williams made his debut in the Nets’ preseason finale following one of the more confusing and evolving recoveries from an ankle sprain.
He couldn’t have asked for a better return than Friday night’s 108-87 victory over the Heat.
The point guard passed every test and cleared every hurdle in a highlight-filled 10-minute cameo. He scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a 67-second stretch in the first quarter when he drained three consecutive shots from beyond the arc.
Williams said he’s on the path to playing in the season opener at Cleveland on Wednesday.
“Another step in the right direction,” Williams said.
On one play, he intercepted a pass from Dwyane Wade and drained a three-pointer in transition. On another, he drove past Norris Cole and finished a floater over Chris Andersen.
Williams also had two assists and two turnovers before retreating to the locker room for mandated treatment on his right ankle. He didn’t play in the second half, as Brooklyn blew out the defending champs for the second time in a week.
Williams lobbied coach Jason Kidd for more playing time, but was unsuccessful.
“I’ve been missing basketball. I’ve been missing playing,” he said. “I love watching the guys play but I’m sick of watching them at the same time. I want to be out there. I was happy to be out there with them.”
Steve Mitchell/USA Today Sports
Paul Pierce is defended by Mario Chalmers (l.) and Dwyane Wade.
Perhaps more important, during a morning session with reporters, Williams said his injury is unrelated to last season’s recurring ankle pain and that he will consider the issue dead once the sprain and bone bruise heal.
He said extra weight, which is no longer an issue, was the biggest factor to last season’s persistent ankle pain.
“I just needed to get that weight off,” said Williams, who slimmed down dramatically midseason with the help of a juice cleanse and a diet change. “Once I got the weight off, the joints felt better. I had more push, more explosiveness.
“Last year was just joint pain from inflammation, probably from me being a little heavy. This year, I sprained my ankle. It was black and blue, puffy, big.”
The initial timeline had Williams ready for training camp by Oct. 1, but that quickly became a “day-to-day” status that lasted for weeks. Williams admitted for the first time Friday that his status for the season opener was once in doubt.
“The outlook for me is a lot better. In my mind, if you asked me a week ago, I didn’t really think I was going to play against Cleveland (on Wednesday),” he said.
Williams’ statements about his weight Friday were also significant, considering it was such a sensitive issue last season after he got off to a poor start. Both Williams and GM Billy King said then it was never a concern. USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo felt compelled to backtrack and apologize after he told the Daily News that Williams had entered the 2012 Olympics “a little overweight.”
But Williams soon cut the weight after Colangelo’s comments, and he says that helped him recover his All-Star form.
Friday night showed he still has it.
“He just adds that dimension because of the way he shoots the ball, the way he pushes it,” Paul Pierce said. “He’s just going to make us better. He makes life easier for the rest of us.”
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