The Nets’ latest win proves that interim head coach Jacque Vaughn should stick around.
Does anybody know if the Brooklyn Nets prefer email or fax? Because we seriously need to pen a formal apology for writing them off ahead of the NBA restart. Then again, you would have been hard pressed to find an analyst or fan who actually believed Brooklyn would finish bubble play with a winning record.
Down several key rotational players, the depleted Nets are not only keeping games competitive, but they are rattling off so many wins — four in six games, to be exact — that it doesn’t even come as a surprise anymore. Their latest victory came in the form of 129-120 upset over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
In our eyes, this win swiftly sealed the debate about whether interim head coach Jacque Vaughn should stay on board next season.
7 seed on lock 🔒
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 10, 2020
BROOKLYN LET'S GOOOOO pic.twitter.com/IbpBK9tRdL
What more do fans (and Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving) need to see? We hate to be harsh, but the Nets arguably have the least talented roster of the 22 teams in the bubble. That won’t even be a question once the eliminated squads leave Orlando.
Brooklyn had no place beating the Milwaukee Bucks — the East’s No. 1 seed — without their top eight scorers. They also should have been run off the floor by the Clippers, who still have a lot to play for in terms of playoff seeding.
We don’t want to hear that Paul George was rested, either. Los Angeles still deployed a rotation that featured four players in Kawhi Leonard, Lou Williams, Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson, all of whom are capable of taking over a game on their own.
And what about the Clips’ supposed suffocating defense? The Nets dropped 45 on them in the first quarter and finished with 129 points on 55.3% shooting. For context, the championship favorites currently rank third in the NBA in terms of lowest field goal percentage allowed (43.9%) vs opposing teams this season.
Doc Rivers knew Jacque Vaughn was going to be a head coach.
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 10, 2020
Before Sunday night’s matchup between the Clippers and Nets, Rivers reflected on Vaughn’s progress as a coach.
“I think he’s done a terrific job,” he said.@krisplashed writes.https://t.co/DLQs8Hs7fd
Vaughn obviously has a massive challenge ahead in terms of figuring out a way to split up the minutes once Durant and Irving from their injuries next year, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes. The Nets’ latest monster upset proves that the interim HC deserves a chance to navigate that potential obstacle.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply not seeing the bigger picture.