Kendrick Perkins emphasizes Jacque Vaughn's impact on Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn has rejuvenated Brooklyn since taking over as coach following the firing of former Nets coach Steve Nash. Brooklyn was 2-5 at the time of Nash’s firing on November 1. They have since gone 20-7 to improve to 22-12 and third in the Eastern Conference. This includes the team currently being on a league-best nine-game winning streak.
Vaughn’s success in Brooklyn has earned him respect from many around the league, including former 14-year NBA veteran and NBA champion Kendrick Perkins.
In a tweet on Monday night, following the Nets’ key 125-117 win over Cleveland, Perkins praised Jacque Vaughn for being able to invigorate the Nets.
“2 words… Jacque Vaughn. That locker room is competing for him and the Brooklyn Nets are serious ladies and gentlemen. Maybe he should’ve been the guy all along! Carry on..."
2 words… Jacque Vaughn. That locker room is competing for him and the Brooklyn Nets are serious ladies and gentlemen. Maybe he should’ve been the guy all along! Carry on…
Considering Vaughn wasn’t even Brooklyn’s top choice for the job originally, one could say the Nets are very fortunate with the way things worked out. Vaughn and the Nets will now look to extend their league-best winning streak to 10 games on Wednesday against Atlanta.
Jacque Vaughn on Brooklyn Nets’ recent success
As for Jacque Vaughn’s thoughts on what has sparked Brooklyn’s turnaround this season, he gave a very simple explanation:
“Basketball.”
Vaughn then elaborated, explaining that his team has been focused on basketball and blocking out external noise:
“We stripped our playbook, and we created a little momentum. Guys are playing extremely free of mind and they’ve done an unbelievable job keeping the focus on basketball."
Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving also echoed similar sentiments about blocking out the noise of outsiders as well. This came after the star duo combined for 64 points against Cleveland.
Durant explained that the team has always been focused on winning despite what outside reports might suggest.
“To be honest, we’ve always been about basketball."
Durant continued:
"The outside noise makes it seem like we don’t care about the game, but so many voices speak about our locker room who don’t have any idea what’s going on. We’ve always been about the game."
Meanwhile, Irving explained that he doesn’t even care about outside noise at all:
"Any external negativity or praise, I really don't care about it. I think I'm just focused on being the best version of me and just letting the results play out based on how well we trust each other as a group."
The Nets’ focus on basketball now has them just two games behind Boston for the best record in the league. If they can stay locked in, they should have a real chance to contend for the 2023 NBA title.