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Hours before losing his star player Kevin Durant to injury, Jack Vaughan was asked to sit on the podium for his first pre-game press conference of the season and assess the first half of his team’s wild season.
“Belief,” said Vaughan.
A fitting tribute from former Kansas State star Vaughn evoked fellow coaches with ties to the Sunflower State. But Nets coaches watch “Ted Lasso” just for entertainment. I don’t plan to write words on construction paper and tape them to the top of my office door.
“I think I’ve been in a lot of different types of games this year,” Bourne elaborated. “If you look at the game in New Orleans the other day, we were 11 points behind and we weren’t shooting basketball well. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that early this season, find a way to believe in ourselves in those games, whether it’s playing in Cleveland or traveling in Miami, Indiana. and win the basketball game at the end of the night.”
Vaughn’s answer is testament to the voice he’s held in the locker room since taking over Steve Nash in November. The Nets’ current grind-it-out style must be maintained as the season heads into the second half after Thursday’s game against the Celtics. The victory was anything but explosive. There have been some of them, but most are in the final minutes or approaching the fourth quarter. The Nets simply found a way to win, not dominate their opponents.
That’s the idea as the team is looking to improve from the 5-16 mark it did without Durant a season ago. What did Vaughan learn from his tenure as an assistant under Nash?
“I have no excuses,” Vaughan said after a pause. “We make no excuses for being in the position we were in last year.
The Nets have survived the suspension of Kyrie Irving, the departure of Nash, the reported pursuit of Ime Udoka and the returns from lengthy layoffs of Ben Simmons, Joe Harris, TJ Warren and Seth Curry. The Nets regular season tends to be the year of the dog these days. The team has faced more adversity in the last six months than most people have faced in his one year. Last year, it proved too much, resulting in a first-round playoff sweep by Boston, Thursday’s game as the Celtics suffered his second loss to the Nets on Dec. 4. , was becoming a true measure of Brooklyn’s contender status. Durant is gone now.
Of the team’s misfortunes, Nick Claxton said, “Injuries, COVID, extenuating circumstances.” “So I’ve gotten used to it and I have to show up every day with the best version of myself in the locker room with everyone else, so that’s what we do.
Over the last 15 games, the Nets have ranked in the top 5 in offensive ratings and top 10 in defense, a significant improvement from where they started the season when their defense was in the basement. Claxton has emerged as one of the league’s up-and-coming two-way players, leading the league in both his goal percentage on the field and blocks per game. His rise is linked to the Nets. His first three years with the team were marked by injuries and other players playing in front of him. Now, his 37 games are just 10 games away from a career-best tie, and he’s a talking point in All-Star voting, but he still doesn’t look like he’ll be in Utah next month. .
Like the rest of the roster, Vaughan would need another piece of gear from Claxton in life without Durant. The Nets get to this point by coming close to an entire roster, even with multiple rotation players being part of themselves due to offseason surgeries. Like Claxton and Irving, expect more from Simmons while Durant rehabilitates. “Play every possession strong,” Vaughan said when asked what he would like to see at point guard in the second half. He revealed when he recalled giving a similar response a few weeks ago.
“I think it’s a contradiction for us,” said Vaughan. “Take the start of the New Orleans game, for example. So he had three things at the start of that game. Defensive then you go offensive he swings the ball back to himself he drives Valanciunas’s right hand (at Jonas) it’s a power play he goes downhill and pace (Trey) Murphy finished, it’s a play of power, he gets a crossover, a post-up dribble, draws two defenders in, he sprays it on Royce (O’Neal) and corners Tray. I want the ball, it’s a power game.
“Well, it was the first six minutes of the game. Can we do it in the 18 minute mark? The 24 minute mark? The 40 minute mark? Can you take a look? Because Kevin’s out and it’s absolutely necessary.”
The Nets plan will not dramatically increase Warren’s workload, despite the importance of his scoring ability. Vaughan doubled down on his earlier statement that keeping Warren healthy heading into the playoffs is a priority and that he’s not considering recording more than 35 minutes in a regular season game. The backend of the rotation will change nightly depending on the matchup and need. We do not believe that any changes are necessary.
“There are times when Ky double-teams, TJ doesn’t score and Kevin misses,” Vaughn said. “Maybe we need a score. There will be times when you don’t feel well, and Markief is also a big part of us.
“Sometimes you can’t get the ball into the paint. I’m not going to say, I’ll do whatever it takes to win the game that day, so it’s the same, the philosophy is the same.”
Bourne’s philosophy and the Nets’ grind-it-out style have put them back at the top of the conference. Now they have to prove they can both work without Durant.
(Photo of Kevin Durant and Jack Vaughan: Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
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