These revamped, reshuffled Brooklyn Nets threw out the surprise of the NBA Campus with last Tuesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, particularly with Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen not playing. Then they rolled over Sacramento with ease on Friday. Then they put together a perfect first quarter against the LA Clippers on Sunday that set them up for a win over the Western Conference’s No. 2 team.
Now they’re 4-2 in the NBA restart, including wins in four of their last five, and Tuesday’s afternoon meeting with the Orlando Magic, which could have carried the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed as a prize, now holds zero stakes for the playoffs. The Nets have locked up their playoff fate with two games still to go.
“Coming in here we had the lowest expectations out of anybody,” said Jarrett Allen of the outsider’s view of the team. “You could look on social media, you could ask around. Nobody really had expectations of how we’re going to play. That makes it easy on us, just going there, playing our game and just competing. Amongst ourselves, we don’t talk about it. We know that we’re capable of it. We know that we can compete with anybody when we want to, so we just went out and played.”
With all that set, the Nets announced Monday afternoon that Allen, Harris, LeVert and Garrett Temple were all out for Tuesday’s game. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said player health continues to be the team’s top priority, something that has shaped minutes decisions dating back to the scrimmages that began on July 22.
“We’ve had a few guys managing bumps and bruises, so, we’ll continue to kind of gauge and monitor them on a daily basis and see what’s best for the group going forward with the idea that health will be premium and balancing rhythm at the same time,” said Vaughn after practice on Monday, but before the injury report was released. “So, great communication between the players, myself and our performance team figuring the right balance out.”
ADDING UP THE ASSISTS
With 32 assists in Sunday’s win over the LA Clippers, the Nets have now racked up at least 30 assists in four of their six games on the NBA Campus. Since the NBA restarted its schedule on July 30, they’re second in the league with 28.0 assists per game.
“Overall, you’ve got to give the guys credit,” said Jacque Vaughn. “They have really taken to getting each other shots and getting into open areas and pushing the pace and really just keeping things simple. If a guy is open, then, they hit him. Really, we’ve tried not to complicate this game of basketball, but the credit goes to the guys for trusting each other, moving the ball and rewarding one another.”
Jarrett Allen feels like the Nets are playing quicker, and in fact their pace is up 103.50, compared to 101.51 before the season was suspended in March. It’s there in the eye test too, with the Nets penetrating the paint and kicking out to shooters, finding cutters on the pick-and-roll, and flying around without the ball to draw defensive attention and open up space.
“We just try to share the ball as much as we can, not settle for good shots, we try to get great shots,” said Chris Chiozza. “Sometimes that’s just making an extra pass, that leads to high percentages and more assists. We just try to make smart plays and make the easy, right play every time.”
“Everybody on the team is a shooter, everybody knows how to play the game and everybody wants to win,” said Caris LeVert. “We’re not really a one-on-one type of team. If we share the ball, we have a lot of shooters. Everybody’s bought into that and it’s starting to show.”
JAMAL CRAWFORD’S IMPACT
Jamal Crawford is also out against Orlando on Tuesday, and Jacque Vaughn wasn’t committing to him playing in the final seeding round game against Portland on Thursday either. Crawford’s only action has been a six-minute stint against Milwaukee before he suffered a hamstring strain. But the 20-year veteran has remained an engaged, incisive mentor for the Nets throughout.
“He’s been great whether — I don’t know if you can see it sometimes — whether it’s a small message to Caris after a huddle, or during a timeout, or he’s sitting in the second row behind Caris,” said Vaughn. “And so those conversations have been consistent. I think he’s taking it upon himself first of all as a leader, as a veteran. And also wanting to carry the team’s message. And so he’s been a calming force for us, whether it was a team making a run, whether it was a halftime talk, or whether it’s preparation before the game.”
SWITCHED UP STARTERS
Since Jacque Vaughn went to a new starting lineup on Friday with Caris LeVert, Garrett Temple, Joe Harris, Rodions Kurucs and Jarrett Allen, that group is plus-11 in 27 minutes together, shooting 50.9 percent overall and 54.2 percent from 3-point range, with 18 assists and six steals against just seven turnovers.
ABOUT THE MAGIC
Things have gone downhill for the Magic since they beat the Nets in the restart opener for both teams on July 31. They’ve lost their last four and seen the Nets clinch the seventh seed after Orlando began the restart just a half-game back of Brooklyn. They lost Jonathan Isaac to a torn ACL, and Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, and Michael Carter-Williams all missed Sunday’s loss to Boston.