Who knows where Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn will land after this season?
If you believe certain reports, Brooklyn owner Joseph Tsai, taking advisements from injured stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, is seeking to lure a more accomplished fish than Vaughn this offseason to set the franchise up for a title run.
However, Vaughn, who succeeded fired coach Kenny Atkinson just two games before the season was halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has done his future prospects no disservice with the way he has conducted his undermanned group during the NBA restart in Orlando. The Nets, who are missing four starters/rotation pieces in addition to Durant and Irving, went 5-3 in the seeding games and came within a busted dribble-handoff of putting a real scare into defending champion Toronto during Wednesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, Toronto pest Kyle Lowry's disruption of the exchange between Nets wings Joe Harris and Garrett Temple in the last 10 seconds secured the 104-99 victory in what appears to have been Brooklyn's best opportunity to steal a game in this best-of-seven series.
It might only get uglier from here for Brooklyn. The Nets announced after the contest that Harris, one of the league's best three-point shooters and a player who averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games, has left the bubble for non-medical personal reasons, and it's also highly unlikely that Toronto will repeat its substandard 43.7/25.7/67.9 percent shooting split from the field, three-point territory, and the foul line, respectively.
Credit a Vaughn defensive adjustment for some of that inefficiency, after watching Toronto go 22-for-44 on three-pointers in Monday's 134-110 Game 1 rout. Realizing that the Raptors were way too skilled to allow them uncontested perimeter shots, Vaughn had the Nets switch all screens on Wednesday, including those set by Nets center Jarrett Allen's responsibility.
Toronto was initially taken aback and, instead of running its regular sets, actively hunted those switches looking to attack mismatches. Allen's length and quick feet proved to be especially disruptive to Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, who riddled Brooklyn for 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting (8-for-10 on three-pointers) in Game 1. Per NBA.com's John Schuhmann, the Raptors scored just two points on six isolation field goal attempts that tested Allen on a switch.
Toronto, though, settled down in the fourth quarter, screening less and relying on their straight-up one-on-one advantages. They have way too many weapons for Brooklyn to handle, rostering five players who averaged at least 15 points per game during the regular season.
The Nets, on the other hand, were playing with the equivalent of water pistols. With all the absences, Caris LeVert has been Brooklyn's sole offensive facilitator in the bubble, which allowed Toronto to squeeze him into a miserable 5-for-22 (including 0-for-4 on threes) outing in Game 2. LeVert's passing has been sublime, but he would have padded his assist total beyond the superb 26 he's recorded in the two games if he had more reliable shooting recipients on the floor with him.
The Raptors pretty much dared anyone other than LeVert or Harris to fire away, and if not for Temple's marksmanship through three quarters (21 points on just 10 shots), the Nets might have been blown out again. Alas, Temple, 34, ran out of gas in the final frame, missing all three of his attempts from deep.
The Nets' fourth quarter energy woes will happen when the bench gives you almost nothing. Raptors reserve Norman Powell's 24 points on Wednesday exceeded the total output from Brooklyn's bench.
Other than guard Tyler Johnson, Vaughn's options were limited to guys who have spent time this season in the G League or, in the case of forward Lance Thomas, on no professional court whatsoever. Injured guard Jamal Crawford (hamstring), 40, would also fall into the Thomas category should he return for Friday's Game 3.
Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks acknowledged before the restart that Vaughn's performance in the bubble will be graded on a curve. This series isn't exactly a fair fight. Red Auerbach would have a difficult time putting these Nets in a position to win a game.
Whether or not it matters in the end of Brooklyn's grand scheme of things, Vaughn certainly did just that in Game 2.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter: @SteveLichtenst1
Follow WFAN on Social MediaTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
