Lionel Hollins: Critics are expecting too much from Deron Williams

Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins came to Deron Williams' defense earlier this week after Williams laid a stinkbomb in Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Nets rebounded from that tough loss to snag Game 3 at home, but Williams wasn't any better, scoring three points on 1-of-8 shooting before being benched for the final 16 minutes. That brought his two-game scoring total up to a whopping five points.

Hollins was back in Williams' corner after Game 3, only his defense changed a bit. More so than defending his point guard's play (which he only kind of did), Hollins went after the media for refusing to reduce their expectations for the three-time All-Star.

"That’s four years ago," Hollins said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "We’re now. No player is the way he was four years ago."

Williams is just 30, perhaps a shade on the wrong side of the hill in NBA terms, but certainly not ancient. He's struggled with injuries, though, and his two surgically repaired ankles can't carry him around the court the way they used to.

Coming off his worst regular season since his rookie campaign in 2005-06, Williams has struggled that much more in the playoffs, averaging just six points, with a ghastly true shooting percentage of 34 and a PER of 6.4.

But Hollins insists, despite his inability to pile up points, Williams has continued to influence the game in other positive ways.

"If it was just about the scoring, there’s a lot of teams that would be better because they have guys who score a lot of points," Hollins said. "But it’s about winning. It’s about doing the right things for the team. And I’ll defend Deron until the end on that and all my players to the end. If you think that just because a guy makes a lot of money and is supposed on a level because everybody put him on that level - whether it be the organization, or whomever - it’s still where we are now. And we have to deal with now. And I support him 100 percent. ...

"I’m disappointed in how everybody is coming down on Deron and treating him like he’s a pariah. Deron’s a good person, he’s a good player. Now is he on a level that you guys think he should be? That’s your fault for thinking somebody should be."