Has there been a quicker, recent turnaround to a season after a coach getting fired? When the Nets & Steve Nash mutually agreed to part ways on November 1st, no one really knew how Brooklyn’s season could turn out.
Some believed Nash’s seemingly passive demeanor didn’t mesh well with the personalities in the locker room, while others thought rocky roster construction could influence a mediocre campaign. Since Jacque Vaughn was promoted to the permanent head coach on November 9th, however, the franchise’s fortune has gone up tremendously.
Fast forward to early January 2023: BKN just finished off a nasty blowout W over the Spurs (139-103!) en route to its 12TH! victory in a row, the longest streak by any team in the Association this year. The Nets currently sit at 25-12, good for the second best record in the entire league - has a true contender emerged?
Well, they certainly have the personnel (in theory) to make a deep run in the East. Superstars Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving are firing on all cylinders: KD’s an MVP candidate & Irving is practically a lock to return to the All-Star game for an 8th time. On top of their leaders playing at a DIFFERENT BREED level, Ben Simmons has found his way in the starting five, Nic Claxton is playing a crazy efficient brand of ball (leads NBA at 74!% shooting from the field) on both ends & veteran role threats like Seth Curry, TJ Warren (returned to action couple of weeks ago after playing only a handful of games since the Orlando Bubble), Royce O’Neale & Yuta Watanabe round out a very interesting, supporting group.
During their run, Brooklyn has knocked off Cleveland (won by 8), Milwaukee (won by 18) & Golden State (won by 30!) rather convincingly & came away with tight victories over Atlanta (won by 4, then later won by 1 a few games later), Indiana (won by 3) & Toronto (won by 3).
Each win works twofold: Coach Vaughn’s group is shooting up the standings & they’re building real confidence that they can finish games under different circumstances.
Left for dead a couple of months ago, it’s time to give Brooklyn credit as a possible contender.