"Terrence Williams just wants to help. The Nets rookie knows he can do more, especially as a point forward, which is one role the team envisions for him. But playing diminished minutes again after he was late for a team meeting, Williams said he fears he might be getting a bad rap.

"I don't want to be the cancer, the bad person," Williams said before the Nets' 98-93 loss to the Rockets last night. "I've never been labeled that in my whole life."

But he's not being called that here. What he is being called is a rookie who's learning.

"Terrence has been very good. He's been working very hard -- extra shooting, extra time. Those are positives. In games, he has really tried to do the things we've asked," interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said."