How Jacque Vaughn's decision to trim Nets' shootarounds, practices is beneficial

When you break down the Nets' first quarter of the regular season, the schedule was a tough one. It included a whopping seven back-to-backs and patches of tough competition. In fact, only two other teams - the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons - have played as many back-to-backs as the Nets did through 29 games. That means 14 of those 29 games played were in back-to-backs.

In that span, Brooklyn had to overcome several obstacles. The biggest of them, outside of injuries, was managing the minutes' load of superstar forward Kevin Durant, veteran wing Royce O'Neale, and three players coming off off-season surgeries: Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Joe Harris.

Now out of the grueling storm and the next back-to-back weeks away, the Nets (17-12) sit in the fourth seed of the Eastern Conference standings and breathe immense confidence. That comes after a huge turnaround, winning eight of their last nine games. Let us dive into a huge catalyst for Brooklyn's recent success and review the past.

Throughout the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving Nets era, shootarounds before contests and practices on off-days were very common, especially in the latter half of the regular season slate. Former Nets head coach Steve Nash made those calls. The reasoning was to combat the team's lack of continuity and chemistry to get the group.

Of course, the reasoning was justified. Brooklyn was beaten and battered by COVID-19 last season. On top of missing several players to health and safety protocols, the absence of Kyrie Irving (COVID-19 vaccination mandates) put a huge burden on the group and key injuries played a huge role in the decision as well.

The Nets' head coach Jacque Vaughn was the lead assistant under Nash during that time. He saw the positives and negatives of being on the practice courts. Now in the head chair, Vaughn has scrapped those extra sessions in the past week, which ironically has been a staple to Brooklyn's recent success.

"Definitely seeing the benefit," said Vaughn on steering away from shootarounds and practices. "I think our guys have been extremely fresh. They've been locked in when we ask them, game plan wise, so it's worked to our advantage. Hopefully, it continues and it gives us a chance to really hold them accountable to the effort, playing hard, and what we've been talking about."

The Nets have hosted only two shootarounds since Nov. 20. Those two shootarounds came against the Memphis Grizzlies (Nov. 20) and the Toronto Raptors (Dec. 2). Shootarounds are only held on the mornings of game days.

“No shootarounds, it’s good," Nic Claxton said. "I think at this point, everybody kind of knows what they need for their bodies. We're all pros. If you need to come in the morning to get some shots, you do that. If not, you can just chill and be ready for the games.”

To newer Nets, the sudden change could come off as unusual. Take it from Simmons, who arrived in Brooklyn during last season's NBA Trade Deadline. Identical to Claxton, the point forward put an emphasis on how it's on the players to be ready to play, which defines Vaughn's coaching philosophy.

"It's interesting," said Simmons on the lack of shootarounds and practices. "But as an individual, you kind of know you need to get your work done because you're not going to have those days where you're made to come in. So it's a luxury but at the same time another responsibility to make sure we get our work in."

During his time with the Philadelphia 76ers, Simmons mentioned the team, like all teams around the league, wouldn't have to come in for shootarounds on some occasions. Vaughn's handling has been different than what he's experienced.

"Not to the same degree," said Simmons on comparing the Nets' shootaround/practice schedule to the Sixers. "But we had days where you wouldn't come in for shootarounds, but it wasn't as often as this."

This past week has been no different for Brooklyn. The Nets have had only two contests in six days. In addition, Vaughn ruled out eight rotation players for a needed rest day in Saturday's win over the Indiana Pacers, which was the second game of a back-to-back. The team just finished off a three-day game break.

“It's been good for everybody. It feels kind of like an All-Star break," Claxton said. "It’s been nice. We needed it. We had a lot of back-to-backs and a lot of traveling. So guys really able to just focus on taking care of their bodies and getting back to it.”

During that three-day break, Vaughn held one full-team practice on Thursday. The day before, the Nets head coach conducted a "Get What You Need Day" instead of practice. To sum it up, if the name didn't classify it enough, players were able to choose what to work on and prioritize. Some players worked on their game while others took a restful approach.

“I came in and shot some free throws, real light touch-up around the rim a little bit," said Claxton on his 'Get What You Need Day.' "I didn’t do too much.”

"Yesterday, got some treatment and rested up," said Simmons on his 'Get What You Need Day.' "Today, had a good session on the court today."

As for Thursday's team practice, only Patty Mills (non-COVID illness) wasn't on the floor with his teammates. The main goal of the rare practice session was to put the final touches ahead of Friday's game vs. the Raptors in Toronto.

"Yeah, just overall we were able to get a little bit of practice in, which we haven't in a while," Vaughn said. "So clean up a couple of things on both ends of the floor. Start to prepare for Toronto as well so we'll use the day for the group."