Kevin Durant, Nets put on notice by Jacque Vaughn after road trip

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn could not help but point out his team's shortcomings after losing two out of their last three road games.

The Brooklyn Nets ended their recent three-game road trip with a disappointing loss to the Indiana Pacers, 128-117. This resulted in Kevin Durant and Co. losing two out of their last three contests as they continue to struggle to reach the .500 mark.

Nets head coach Jacque Vaugh could not help out but point out his team's shortcomings during their recent road trip. In particular, the Brooklyn shot-caller rued his squad's missed opportunities in Friday's defeat against the Pacers:

“We got to win ballgames,” Vaughn said, via amny.com. “We should have won the Indiana game. You know, going back watching the film, have seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, have our group out there a majority of the time that started the game. Have defensive breakdowns like we did to end the game. Lose our poise and composure like we did at the end of the game, can’t happen. And just because you’re at home, some of those same problems could arise. how we respond to it is key.”

The good news for the Nets is that they now head back to Brooklyn for an extended homestand. They play their next seven games on their own home court, which should give them an advantage. Jacque Vaughn knows home important this stretch will be at this part of the season and he's sent a stern reminder to his boys about the same:

“We talked about this should be a good homestand for us, we get a chance to sleep on all beds. Play on our own court, have our own fans behind us,” Vaughn said. “But you got to take care of business and the goal is to win every single game we play.”

In his mind, Vaughn believes that his team's concentration throughout entire games will be integral to their success. He's also called on Kevin Durant and the rest of the Nets to be more ruthless when it comes to closing out games:

“It’s the value of each possession and sometimes we take that for granted,” Vaughn said. “It is, we can score and maybe make up the deficit because we have a mistake, but we come out of the third quarter and give up three straight threes. Just because the focus and the concentration wasn’t there. And those things have happened to us too frequently. (It’s) my job to continue to show it to the team, point it out, make it as black and white as I can, and we’ll do that before pregame today. Even though we lead into another game, we’ll see some clips from Indiana and challenge this group to be locked in on each possession.”

Brooklyn will want to kick off their homestand with a win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. Damian Lillard is still out of action for the Blazers, and the Nets will want to take advantage of this fact as they battle a shorthanded, yet unrelenting Portland side.