Nets believe they might have more surprises in store for playoffs

The Nets began their eight-game “seeding” schedule in the NBA bubble at Disney World in Orlando with a loss and ended with a loss. But their journey during that span represented a remarkable transformation for a team of which nothing was expected after their roster was gutted by illness and injuries into a surprising challenger that poses some danger to the defending NBA champion Raptors in the first round of the playoffs starting Monday afternoon.

In their Orlando opener the Nets were blown out by the Magic while adjusting to the loss of six players who were active when the season was suspended in March and the addition of five new players in the bubble. The Nets won five of their next six, including shockers over such powers as the Bucks and Clippers before suffering a one-point loss in a tense elimination game against the Trail Blazers, who held onto the eighth seed in the West.

“There’s a lot of professionals in this locker room, a lot of guys that were overlooked, and we take it personal,” said Caris LeVert, who emerged as the Nets’ unquestioned go-to guy. “We hear all the noise that people were saying we’re supposed to go 0-8 or whatever it was.

“As a team, we got better each and every game. That’s what we wanted to do when we came down here. We were a new group. We knew what we had a lot to accomplish in order to keep the seventh spot and get some momentum going into the playoffs, and we did that. I’m proud of this group for that, but the job is not done. We have a tough series coming up against Toronto, and that’s what we’re looking forward to right now.”

Head coach Jacque Vaughn wanted to change things when the season paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but after losing several key veterans, he altered his plans to integrate new players when practice resumed in July. “We really streamlined things and allowed players to play with confidence,” he said.

Since replacing Kenny Atkinson as head coach two games before the stoppage, Vaughn has a 7-3 record that also includes a road victory over the Lakers back in March. Asked about the tactical changes Vaughn has made, Joe Harris pointed to the defensive scheme.

“We’re switching a lot more, playing a lot more aggressively on the defensive end,” he said. “We’ve been put in a position where we have to scramble around and sacrifice for one another, really just more of a team approach versus the bigs and guards being on their own.”

Offensively, Harris pointed to the increased pace and how well the Nets have been sharing the ball, averaging 27.8 assists in the eight seeding games. “Caris is really our only one-on-one player, and we know that. In order for us to have success and play well offensively, we have to move the ball, move ourselves and try to get out in transition and get easy baskets that way.”

As Harris sees it, the hard-fought loss to Portland was perfect preparation for the playoffs. He suggested the Nets might have more surprises in store.

“We’re going to compete,” Harris said. “We’ve shown that from the moment we got here to now. Caris is arguably one of the best players down here right now, and when you have someone like that, it makes the game a lot easier for everyone else.

“We’ve had a lot of guys step up. I think that is a testament to [Vaughn] and the rest of the coaching staff. They’ve instilled a lot of confidence in every single guy on this roster. [They've said] 'We know what you’re capable of doing. Go in and play free, play loose and play with confidence.’ ”

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.