Jacque Vaughn has to deal with a new Brooklyn Nets roster after the era of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. He now has a new core led by Mikal Bridges and Ben Simmons but there are a lot of adjustments to be made. The team, with no doubt, is filled to the brim with talent that could compete for a middle-of-the-pack playoff position. However, they have glaring problems during the NBA Preseason that will be huge concerns once the 82-game season starts.
The Nets and their ball security conundrum
The NBA Preseason was an offensive disaster for the Nets and their distribution. Jacque Vaughn and the Mikal Bridges-led squad gave the ball a little too much in their NBA Preseason matchups. Specifically, against the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers. Their tough matches have one thing in common and it was that their assist to turnover ratio had been horrid.
Against the Sixers, the team took a while to heat up and find the right passes early on. While the Nets notched 33 assists in this matchup, their 27 turnovers limited them from maximizing the offensive capabilities that Jacque Vaugh's schematics had to offer. A lot of their dribble handoffs got disturbed and some of their passes out of the pick-and-roll got caught. Entering the ball in the post was often hard at times which led to 16 steals from the Sixers.
The Mikal Bridges and Ben Simmons-led offense gave up too many turnovers. They did it to a team that was struggling to defend the perimeter during last year's playoffs. One could only think what would happen if they had faced a squad who was actually trapping them for steals like the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers.
They did face one of those teams and it did not look good. For every assist they got, a turnover would be committed immediately afterward. Furthermore, their 19 assists and 19 turnovers led to a really bad offense which was tough to kickstart. They bailed out their schematics by going hard and driving to the lane. This attracted 27 fouls for them which kept the game close. Otherwise, this would have been a tough demolition job had they continued the same sets on offense.
How will Jacque Vaughn patch up these woes?
The Nets did not end their NBA Preseason campaign on a loss. They notched a win over the reigning Eastern Conference champions Miami Heat. Apparently, it was all just about minimizing the bad passes and immediately finding the driving lane to the hoop. This got them better opportunities to run their offense inside and bait the foul for more points. The scheme was effective against the shorthanded Heat. The Nets got 28 points in the paint which allowed them to stretch out the defense gradually. They exploded on three following this which resulted in 15 shots getting knocked down from far out.
Bridges and Vaughn's squad have a lot of potential. But, finding a good passer or even just Ben Simmons reverting back to the floor general that he was would do a lot for the squad. The fewer turnovers and mistakes they make would equate to better opportunities to explore other set plays just like what they accomplished against Miami. The team has a lot of great defensive potential, it is just their offense and passing that needs a bit of work.
Follow Us
Subscribe