UNO MAS / ONE MORE
Continuing with the action of the best basketball in the world as it is the NBA, we find another quintet that is setting the tone in the league, and is that we moved to the ''Eastern'' conference and we can not overlook the performances of the Brooklyn Nets team, who are currently engaged in a streak of consecutive games getting the victory, which now amounts to 12, having as main figures Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, supported by a change of mentality and way of playing of their new coach, who has come to show what has always been wanted from this pair, who last season had absent, due to many inconsistencies, due to injuries and internal problems between some players and the former coach.
EN RACHA / ON FIRE
It seems unbelievable but this Nets team retains most of its core of players from last season, except James Harden, but with a new coach, and a change of mentality, they have acquired a new way of playing, perhaps a new identity, Jacque Vaughn has been responsible for getting this team going and has kept them on a winning streak, with the victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, a very important number, which shows that they are coming for great things, and they are only 1 game behind the Boston Celtics who are in first place.
With a purely defensive work combined with an excellent offense, the Brooklyn Nets dominated in a convincing way to the San Antonio Spurs of Gregg Popovich 139 to 104, Vaughn who in the past was a player under his command, in his time with San Antonio, managed to overcome the master, keeping the good moment for the home team, at the Nets, the good work has been noticed, and along with the splendid work of the aforementioned Irving and Durant everything became easier, it is easier this way. ? well, that's part of it, but it requires that things from the bench are done in the right way.
Of course having the figures of this caliber is easier, but not everything is to have the talent and already, is to know how to use the strategies, if we remember, last season, in the Brooklyn team were Harden, Durant and Irving, very little could do, Having a great trio does not guarantee anything, and more if everyone pulls for their side, it seems that Steve Nash, coach of the Nets until the beginning of this season when he was fired, did not have control of his team, because that was reflected in the negative record of the team, which was the cause of his dismissal.
Such responsibility has now been taken by Jacque Vaughn to whom we must give all the credit, because? the numbers speak for themselves, a 25-12 record, a positive record since he took over, but what is the secret? Being a Basketball coach is not at all easy, as in other sports, it requires such a leadership, that you must get the message across that you want, and you must get your players to do exactly what you want on the court, and when they realize that what you tell them works for them, that's when your players become confident and execute the strategies in a great way and a respect is created.
All this is reflected in the faces of the players, in the dunks, in the passes, in simply the team's performance, taking advantage of a talent that was there and had not been used to the fullest, not because Nash was a bad coach, but for not using the right strategies to this group of players who needed a change of direction, a change in many aspects, that only a coach like Jacque Vaughn could do.
All this means that the Nets, who this season reach 10 under the name of Brooklyn, are in one of their best campaigns in their young history, with this new coach and this scheme, they are shaping up to finish in a good position in the ''Eastern'' conference, everything sounds great, but they bring a good momentum, and it is historically and statistically proven in the league, that teams that achieve such streaks, achieve a good record at the end of it all, reaching the postseason in the first places.
LA CLAVE / THE KEY
If we analyze the impact that Vaughn's work has had, we can realize that it has been of such magnitude that it is not only reflected in the overall positive record as a whole, but also in the individual performance of each of the players, giving him other roles and that in turn have been adapted to the needs of the team and themselves, such is the case of Kevin Durant, his defensive work has positively influenced him and has not neglected his offensive work, giving a boost and clarity to Irving who has been seen more loose pilot in the team.
Claro ejemplo de lo que les digo, son las apariciones de Durant dentro del equipo, el técnico lo ha dosificado de tal manera, que ha aparecido en 36 partidos de los 37 que ha efectuado el conjunto de los Nets esta temporada, resultando el mayor promedio de presencias en el tabloncillo de su equipo, por encima de todos, siendo esto una cosa verdaderamente exitosa, si conocemos el historial de lesiones de Durant en estas últimas temporadas, llevando también en este aspecto, todo el crédito el técnico, quien a su vez ha logrado unir al vestuario, que pienso en lo particular ha sido lo más importante de todo para conducir a los Nets a ser el mejor equipo en la actualidad en toda la NBA.
A clear example of what I mean is Durant's appearances within the team, the coach has dosed him in such a way that he has appeared in 36 of the 37 games that the Nets have played this season, resulting in the highest average of appearances on the court of his team, above all others, which is a truly successful thing, Durant's injury history over the past few seasons has given him credit for bringing the locker room together, which I think has been the most important thing in leading the Nets to be the best team in the NBA right now.