"Aside from his premature return for two games last week, Deron Williams now has missed a full month with the sprained left ankle he suffered after landing on the foot of Chicago's Derrick Rose on a three-point attempt in an Oct. 18 preseason game.

"I told you I thought I was out for the season when I did it," Williams said. "I knew it was going to be bad. I've never had an injury this bad. I've sprained my ankle a lot, so that's why I thought I could come back a lot sooner than I could. But this one was pretty bad."

Williams sat out Wednesday's game against Milwaukee, the 10th game in 12 he has missed, and the Jazz were left severely short-handed at point guard with Brevin Knight unable to play due to a strained left groin.

The Jazz's original timetable called for Williams to miss at least two weeks with the second-degree sprain. Williams went for a second opinion that suggested he would be out four to six weeks, but he said Wednesday that he was getting closer to returning.

"I feel like I'm getting stronger," Williams said. "A lot of my game is changing directions, explosion. It's hard for me to do that stuff right now."

Williams had missed only four games due to injury in his first three seasons. C.J. Miles, the Jazz's backup point guard with Williams and Knight out, was asked Wednesday if he ever thought Williams would miss a full month."