"Given his athleticism, court vision, skill set, and inherent toughness, Terrence Williams should probably be one of the Nets' best players by now.

But for nearly a month, the rookie had strung together performances that were marked by impatience, indifference, frustration, and - most curious of all - selfishness.

In some small ways, however, this road trip could be a sign that Williams is turning the corner, because there was no apathy in his performances at L.A. and Phoenix.

At least his employer thinks so.

"The last two games, he's played winning basketball," Nets president Rod Thorn said. "He played in a way that, if he continues to progress, he's going to get minutes - and he's going to get important minutes. But we really needed to see that."

Kiki Vanderweghe also said he is encouraged, but he isn't ready to say that the light has gone on for his rookie.

"But we've made it very clear to Terrence what we'd like him to do, and he's been better with that," Vandeweghe said. "Obviously we want to get him going and playing time and all that. But you know, rookies learn at different rates.""