In remarkable turnaround and with new defensive focus, streaking Nets (nine straight wins) dominate leading teams, push toward top of conference.

The streaking Brooklyn Nets have made a remarkable turnaround, thanks to (accidental) new head Coach Jacque Vaughn, soundly beating three top teams in a row: the Golden State Warriors (albeit without star Steph Curry), the Milwaukee Bucks (albeit without the oft-absent Khris Middleton), and, two nights ago in Cleveland, the hometown Cavaliers.

So, while it only merits a banner on the back of yesterday's tabloids, expect more coverage of the team's surge, especially if they move up from third place in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the Boston Celtics, even higher.

To quote NetsDaily:

Brooklyn won its ninth-straight game to extend the longest active winning streak in the association with a 125-117 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Nets’ streak is the longest winning streak in franchise history since 2005-06 — when Jacque Vaughn was the back-up point guard — and Brooklyn is a league-best 10-1 in the month of December. The win was also the team’s 20th since Vaughn took over the team in early November and the Nets were in 10th place.

Perhaps more importantly, the Nets have ruined the narrative that they can’t beat good teams, turning back the Warriors, Bucks and Cavs in a week.

Since Kyrie Irving's suspension, then Vaughn pushed the team to focus on defense, the team is 20-6, noted the Post's Brian Lewis; of course Irving has been key to beating the top teams, as has recently T.J. Warren, a solid player emerging from injury.

Surging team

Even before the wins over Milwaukee and Cleveland, TrueHoop pundit Coach David Thorpe said the Nets were tops in the league. (Before Christmas, Bleacher Report had the Cavs and Bucks as #1 and #2, ahead of the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggests, with the Nets #5.)

Indeed, Irving and Kevin Durant have fulfilled their potential as stars, with Irving (and others) playing better defense, and third star Ben Simmons serving as the defensive stopper--and, more surprisingly. most effective player--he was expected to be. (And the Nets won last night without sharpshooters Joe Harris and Seth Curry.)

Just past 1 hour in, @coachthorpe says he'd pick #BrooklynNets to win it all (in a best of 3)
"Who's beating them right now?"
"I've got the Brooklyn Nets from nowhere to Number One for me"
(this before beating the Bucks)#NBAgyrations https://t.co/78PR7AgGvz

— Norman Oder (@AYReport) December 24, 2022

The Nets' next four games, starting tonight in Charlotte, are against weak teams. Perhaps the next true test will be Jan. 6 in New Orleans, against Zion Williamson's Pelicans.

Reversing the narrative

For now--pending future injuries or team blow-ups--this reverses the narrative that kept the Nets from even being scheduled for a Christmas Day game. After all, as noted by NetsDaily, when the schedule was made, the hottest team in the league was "a mess," since KD had asked for a trade, Kyrie might have been on his way out, and Simmons was still recovering from back surgery.

And this reverses the narrative, as I wrote nearly two weeks ago, that, after the Nets' suspension of Irving and firing of Coach Steve Nash (and almost hiring the tarnished Ime Udoka), the rival Knicks had "something to smile about," to quote New York magazine.

Nets Transformation Unleashing Dynamism Few Teams Can Match, wrote Steve Lichtenstein yesterday, citing a 19-4 run against Cleveland, the league's top defensive team:

Utilizing a lineup of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, T.J. Warren, and Royce O’Neal, the Nets showcased who they could be when playing at their top level, complementing their two superstars with size, switchability and shooting. When they throw in the requisite effort, this team can compete with anyone.

Durant and Irving are the league’s eighth and ninth leading scorers, he noted, and the Nets have gone from 29th in defensive rating under Nash to seventh under Vaughn.

Looking forward

Wrote Good Morning It's Basketball's Tom Ziller yesterday:

This is the optimal vision of the Brooklyn Nets, one that seemed so unlikely when Durant was requesting a trade, Irving was looking at declining his player option and Simmons was more than a year removed from playing in an NBA game.

He credits Vaughn for making the players accountable, and says the Nets could become a top-ten defense with another center and long wing defender. Still, he offers a caveat:

This is a quibble: the fact that we’re talking about what the Nets could use for a long playoff series is a triumph for this franchise given what they have been through (and what they have put themselves through) for the past year or so. And, of course, it goes without saying (I’ll say it anyways) that every success for this team feels completely tenuous.