Deron Williams: 'I took a lot of pounding over the last year'

Losers of six of their last 10 and dealing with the recent firing of coach Avery Johnson, the Brooklyn Nets have dealt with plenty early in their first season in Brooklyn.

Included in the frustration has been point guard Deron Williams, who many expected to help lead the renewed charge in Brooklyn. Williams has posted a career-low shooting percentage through 31 games but, in the days following Johnson's firing, both Nets GM Billy King and Williams himself are blaming the slow start on the point guard being overworked, according to an ESPNNewYork.com report.

"I took a lot of pounding over the last year," said Williams, who played in the 2012 Olympics and went back to work the day after the U.S. team won a gold medal. "I felt like I could handle it, and at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to get out of shape. I wanted to just keep going."

Williams is averaging 16.3 points and 7.5 assists for the 16-15 Nets, who currently rank seventh in the Eastern Conference.