Earlier this season, it seemed like the Nets just couldn’t get out of their own way. But now that the off-court issues have subsided and Brooklyn focuses on playing basketball, things are starting to come together.
Jacque Vaughn’s club beat the Washington Wizards on Monday night by a score of 112-100. It’s just the latest victory during the Nets’ most recent hot streak. They’ve now won four games in a row, as well as coming out on top in eight of their last nine matchups.
This all began just after Thanksgiving. Brooklyn lost to the Indiana Pacers on November 25th, dropping its record to 9-11. They were tied with the Knicks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Nearly a month and a half into the regular season, the Nets just couldn’t get themselves on any kind of sustained groove. To this point in the year, they had failed to win more than two consecutive games.
Brooklyn has enjoyed two different winning streaks longer than that since beating the Portland Trail Blazers on November 27th. First, it was a five-game streak, followed by their current four-game streak.
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and their friends have finally watched things start to come together as a squad. Brooklyn’s latest victory has improved its record to 17-12. After being in 10th place as recently as November 25th, they woke up on December 13th with the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. They’re just 4.5 games behind the first-place Boston Celtics, with only the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in front of them.
There was chatter about potentially blowing things up not too long ago. The Nets’ front office wanted to give Vaughn a legitimate shot to compete with the current roster. It looks like their patience is going to pay off.
What’s next for the Nets? They’re currently in the midst of a four-game road trip. It started in Indiana before heading to Durant’s old stomping grounds in DC on Monday. They’ll now head north of the border to face the Toronto Raptors on Friday. Things will finish up in Detroit against the Pistons on Sunday.
Brooklyn will then head home for two games against teams directly ahead of them in the standings: Milwaukee and Cleveland.
Things started like an absolute dumpster fire this year for the Nets. Who knows what’ll happen in the future, but it seems like these guys are starting to gel as a unit after racking up some consistent minutes on the floor as a unit.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
