Nets’ small victories in game plan serve as building blocks

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn has shied away from calling his teams an underdog as the No. 6 seed. But it’s evident his team faced long odds against the 76ers.

On one side, there’s Joel Embiid, who could win his first Most Valuable Player award after leading the league in scoring. There’s James Harden, the league’s assist leader and former MVP. Long Island’s Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey have equally been effective.

Then there’s the Nets, who barely resemble the team that started the season thanks to trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Losing the first two games was understandable even if the Nets did several things right.

“We really called it a reality check of our expectations,” Vaughn said before Thursday’s game at Barclays Center. “We come in the series, we want to limit Harden and Embiid’s free throws. Well, we’ve done that.

“Both of them are shooting under their season average. We’ve done that with discipline and game plan.”

The Nets also held the 76ers under 100 points in Game 2. It might not matter with consecutive double-digit losses but it’s small victories for a team still building chemistry.

Vaughn noted his team is the only one in the playoffs without a current or former All-Star on the roster. That, of course, excludes Ben Simmons but the three-time All-Star is out for the remainder of the season.

The Nets haven’t matched the 76ers’ scoring but the small victories in the game plan are building blocks whether or not Game 4 is the last home game of the season.

“I mean, what else can you ask from a great team like that,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “If we made shots, it would be a different ending.”

For Vaughn, that’s what he’s taking away from the series. He might not see the Nets as underdogs but he’s appreciated their grit playing as a team that’s overmatched against a team with two All-Stars and multiple scoring options.

“This team is doing a hell of a job,” Vaughn said. 

Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.