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NY Post
New York Post
2 Nov 2023


NextImg:Nets need ‘depth and versatility’ flash to become part of blueprint

Mikal Bridges scored the Nets’ final six points of their win over the Heat in Miami on Wednesday night as he looks to reestablish himself as the offensive force he became following his arrival in a trade from Phoenix last season.

But as the Nets have often noted since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving departed in February prior to last season’s trade deadline, they are no longer built on star power.

Which means that in addition to getting Bridges back to the form he showed for much of the latter part of last season, they also will need plenty more performances like they got from all across the roster in Wednesday’s victory in order to compete in the Eastern Conference.

“This is a night when you see the depth and versatility of our group,’’ coach Jacque Vaughn said following the win, the Nets’ second straight after dropping their first two games of the season. “You also saw the fight and competitiveness of our group. Our pace didn’t change with subbing in guys.”

Armoni Brooks scored 17 points for the Nets in their victory against the Heat on Wednesday.
NBAE via Getty Images

That’s an encouraging sign for a team still establishing an identity — especially on a night when Brooklyn was without the injured Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson and Dennis Smith Jr., and were forced to rely on the likes of Armoni Brooks and Trendon Watford — in their first appearances with the Nets — and Jalen Wilson in his NBA debut after being selected by the Nets in the second round of this year’s draft.

Vaughn praised all three newcomers, with Brooks scoring 17 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field, Watford putting up 11 points, four rebounds and four assists and Wilson adding a blocked shot.

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Brooks and Watford were among the five on the floor during a key fourth-quarter stretch Wednesday, along with Ben Simmons and Royce O’Neale, as well as Lonnie Walker IV.

Vaughn attributed the group’s success to “the ability to trust what we were trying to do.”

“We were talking conceptually about how we want to play the game. so we pushed it with pace,’’ Vaughn said. “Different individuals were handling the basketball. We were getting to the right spacing.”

That resulted in the Nets turning what was an eight-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter into a lead in less than four minutes.

“Just taking advantage of opportunities,” Vaughn said. “I think we were selfless in our cuts and our ability to get our teammates open. We can play that way every single night if we’re committed to it.”

Vaughn is confident that will be the case regardless of who’s on the floor, crediting what he called “a different level of depth” on the bench.

“They’re guys you put in on a night like this and they can contribute,’’ Vaughn said. “It’s not always that way. [Sometimes] you have guys at the quote-unquote ‘end of the bench’ either developing or not ready for a game like this on the road. We have confidence to put them in a game.”

Trendon Watford compiled 11 points, four rebounds and four assists against the Heat.

Trendon Watford compiled 11 points, four rebounds and four assists against the Heat.
AP

Bridges, who finished with a team-high 21 points and made his presence felt down the stretch, appreciated their contribution.

“We’re gonna need that,’’ Bridges said. “We’ve got bodies down and the NBA is 82 games and injuries happen. … So I wasn’t really nervous when [any] of them were checking in. I just know they’re locked-in.”

They’ll undoubtedly need them again, perhaps as soon as Friday night in Chicago — with Claxton and Johnson already ruled out and Dinwiddie and Smith questionable — when the Nets look for their third consecutive win, all on the road.

— Additional reporting by Brian Lewis