As Nets two-way guard Jeremiah Martin disrupted Milwaukee forward Dante DiVincenzo's last-ditch attempt at a potential game-tying shot inside the Orlando bubble on Tuesday, Nets WFAN Radio announcer Chris Carrino crowed, "When you wish upon a star!"
How improbable was Brooklyn's 119-116 victory over the league's top team? It was the NBA's biggest upset in about 27 years, depending on the point spread of your go-to Las Vegas bookmaker.
That the Nets' virtual carriage turned into a pumpkin in a 149-115 thrashing at the hands of the Celtics on Wednesday night did not erase the magical achievement about 30 hours earlier.
While the Bucks did sit All Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton in the second half (and DNP'd center Brook Lopez), the Nets managed to put up a whopping 73 first-half points without any of their own top six scorers in the lineup. With half the Nets roster either opting out of the bubble due to COVID-19 concerns or injured, and Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Jarrett Allen taking the day off, the only rotation players from opening night to suit up versus the Bucks were Garrett Temple and Rodions Kurucs.
Brooklyn's grittiness in the most adverse situation was beyond admirable.
Unfortunately, the Celtics loss was more indicative as to where the Nets (32-36) stand at their midway point of the eight-game conclusion to the regular season. When an opponent's defense is engaged like that (as well as it was in the Nets' bubble-opening loss to Orlando), the story becomes more of a horror show than a fairy tale.
Brooklyn's base defense, by contrast, is rather gratuitous in comparison, and that is by design. The assertion, as proffered by Nets coach Jacque Vaughn in the aftermath of Sunday's 117-110 win over Washington, that the game plan called for his team to allow Wizards center Thomas Bryant to shoot one uncontested three-pointer after another could only be described as delusional.
The Nets need to start thinking ahead. Their 2-2 start in Orlando all but assured them a postseason berth. Washington has to win out and needs daily help just to force a play-in game.
Brooklyn retains a half-game lead over the Magic for the seventh seed, but the playoff opponent, be it Milwaukee or Toronto, will be irrelevant unless Vaughn, who is looking to build a case for his continued employment next season, makes some adjustments:
Toughness mattersThe seminal moment from the Bucks game occurred when Nets backup center Donta Hall, a G League rookie, threw NBA MVP Antetokounmpo to the ground during a second quarter boxout. Meanwhile, certain teams, like the Celtics, Sixers, and Raptors, have a way of bringing out Jarrett Allen's timidity.
In the last four games, I would like to see Vaughn try a second unit that includes Hall and Justin Anderson, two tough hombres, and less of Lance Thomas, who looks like he hasn't played all year (he hasn't). Move Kurucs into the starting lineup so the Nets don't always have to play so small. That way, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who had been one of the Nets' best players in the first three games before an off night on Wednesday, can return to his normal role on the wing.
Playoff basketball is a different animal. If Milwaukee is the opponent, you can guarantee they won't be as disinterested a second time. Toronto makes its living by outworking the competition. Vaughn needs to prioritize what little physicality he has at his disposal.
Drop the "Drop" pick-and-roll coverageNothing infuriates me more than when I see a Nets defender bumped out to midcourt like a pinball on an opponent ball screen, while Allen drops into the paint to get a wonderful view of the ballhandler stepping into an uncontested three-point attempt. Boston had nauseating success with it, going 20-for-39 from long distances.
It's one thing when the analytics argue for allowing mid-range attempts; it's quite another when the same defensive principles yield great three-point looks. There's no reason why Allen, who has shown good mobility at his size, can't come up higher to give ballhandlers something to think about. Opponents blitz LeVert all the time, so much so that he's often better when waving screens away (or posting up on the left side, a neat Vaughn wrinkle) for an isolation.
When it comes to playoff defense, forcing turnovers = good, allowing practice shots = quick death.
Go with the hot guard to share the court with LeVert and HarrisIn his four games, three of which he started, Tyler Johnson has shot 25 percent from the field and 20 percent on three-pointers. That won't cut it.
Small sample size? Absolutely, but so will a four-game playoff sweep be if you don't even try to correct wrongs.
Jamal Crawford's hamstring injury in Tuesday's second quarter was unfortunate. Vaughn said he expects him to return, but the Nets are notoriously cautious, having held Crawford out of the scrimmages and the first two games for "conditioning," and he still got hurt anyway, so who knows what will be lost, even if only the lost potential to make things exciting with his explosive offensive capabilities.
Still, I envisioned him as a bench scorer, not a heavy-minutes guy, so more unfortunate is the fact that the options for LeVert's outlet opposite Harris – Johnson, Temple, and Chris Chiozza – are maddeningly inconsistent. It may come down to who has the juice that day.
Here's a tip: If the starter didn't have "it" in the first half, try somebody else at the beginning of the third quarter. You can't worry about hurt feelings come playoff time, not when you're a team so dependent on miracles.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve Lichtenstein on Twitter: @SteveLichtenst1
Follow WFAN on Social MediaTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
