Two weeks after the start of the NBA season, the Brooklyn Nets were an absolute dumpster fire. After franchise cornerstone Kevin Durant asked for a trade, head coach Steve Nash was fired due to a 2-6 start, and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving was suspended indefinitely, critics claimed there was nothing left to salvage in Brooklyn.
Even though they had a team full of talent and potential, it looked like the Nets wouldn’t stand a chance in the league because of their internal problems. There were rumors left and right about where KD would end.
All the tension, problems, and rumors have now been put to rest. If you’ve been following the Nets since December, you would not even know that any of those problems existed.
Before the Chicago Bulls snapped their win streak on Thursday, the Nets won 12 consecutive games. Ever since they decided to go all-in with Jacque Vaughn over suspended Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, the team has posted a 21-5 record.
They’ve won 16 of their last 17 matches and achieved the league’s best net rating during that span. Let’s analyze how the Brooklyn Nets were able to snap out of their early season woes.
Vaughn’s new philosophy
We can see that the Nets are reaping the benefits of the change in the coaching staff. Durant actually believes that the team’s recent success is rooted in Vaughn’s team philosophy.
“When you follow the game plan and it works, you start believing more and more in what we’re doing every day,” Durant shared. “I felt like we didn’t have an identity to start the season, and then we started to figure it out as these last few weeks. We have that belief in whatever Jacque tells us.”
To move on from all the drama, Vaughn focused on the most important part of the team, which is basketball. “When I first got this job, I said I was going to keep things extremely simple, and it was going to be about basketball,” Vaughn said.
He has a good sense of what works for the team and that has translated into how he manages the players and how he pieces them together on and off the court. With a roster full of pretty good players, Vaugn making things extremely simple for the team allowed a huge turnaround.
Making adjustments on defense
The Nets have significantly improved on defense and in the rebounding department - two of their weakest qualities to start the season. During the eight games under the helm of Nash, the Nets ranked 29th in the league in defensive rating.
Because of injuries or other circumstances last season, the Nets frequently utilized guard-heavy lineups to achieve more shooting. In comparison to their recent win streak, Vaughn used lesser rotations and chose lineups that increased length and defensive versatility.
We can see this big adjustment with the lessened playing time of smaller guards like Patty Mills, Cam Thomas, and Seth Curry. Vaughn has expanded the roles of T.J. Warren, Yuta Watanabe, and Edmond Sumner.
The increased height and defensive skill set, combined with the breakout of Nic Claxton, produced a versatile team in Brooklyn. Of course with their taller lineups, the squad has been seeing better results in rebounds.
Awakening the superstars
When Irving returned from his eight-game suspension, he immediately became the major reason for Brooklyn’s turnaround. The team’s offense is built on the shot-making from two of the best scorers in the world, and whenever he and KD are playing, it’s easier for the Nets to get wins.
The NBA champion and seven-time All-Star is still one of the elite guards in the NBA, and he continues to deliver for Brooklyn when controversies aren’t hounding him. He scores 26.1 points per game on average and creates ample space for his teammates. Irving, along with KD, is frequently double-teamed so he moves the ball around efficiently and finds the open guy.
Meanwhile, KD continues to carry the majority of the load for the Nets. He is again performing at an MVP level, averaging 29.4 ppg on 59.7 percent shooting.
Now that the duo is finally playing together and fulfilling their promise, their team is now third in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Bucks (25-13). They have become one of the favorites again for the title.
As the main guys become more comfortable and consistent, and with the other players getting more involved in Vaughn’s system, the Nets are on their rise back to elite status in the league.
