The Nets are embracing radical truth.
And the real talk is leading to real wins.
Brooklyn crushed woeful Washington, 124-97, before a crowd of 16,587 at Barclays Center on Friday night. It was the Nets’ sixth victory in their last seven games, and was the perfect way to depart on a long West Coast swing.
And the Nets — who led by as many as 30 points in improving to 12-9 — credit their recent success to Jacque Vaughn fostering an environment of player accountability and open communication, in the locker room and out on the court.
“We’ve got a saying: radical truth. Everybody just bought into that. We just be honest with each other, right, and nobody’s taking it offensive. We’re all just trying to play hard and win games,” said Day’Ron Sharpe, who had a season-high 15 points and 11 boards off the bench.
“That’s been the message since Day 1 of training camp with JV. That’s the first thing he wrote on the board: radical truth, radical transparency. Coming into this season, we’re not holding things back from each other. We’re all trying to get better, we all want to win, we all want to be great. So we’re all trying to buy into that.”
The Nets had six scorers in double figures, and blew the game open with a 40-24 third quarter, its fourth 40-point period of the season.
Mikal Bridges had a game-high 21 points and never got off the bench in the fourth quarter.
He wasn’t needed, with the Nets up by 19 after the third.
Cam Thomas scored 17, and Nic Claxton had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 15 boards.
The final period was time to empty the bench, with little-used Harry Giles III getting in and even scoring to make it 116-91 with 3:56 left.
The Nets posted a staggering 76-56 edge in points in the paint, their total just two shy of tying the franchise record.
Granted, the Wizards (3-18) are horrid.
But Brooklyn is convinced this run — during which it has the highest Net Rating in the league — is more an epiphany than an aberration, and say it’s being sparked by not just honesty with each other but by not taking umbrage.
“I want to try to establish an environment where you could speak the truth and be transparent with each other. I want to coach you that way,” said Vaughn. “That way our conversations, whenever you have any hesitation, just lean into that. That’ll lead you to the right direction. So our group has really wrapped our heads around that, and really grown into being truthful and transparent with each other.
“Saw it multiple times in the Atlanta game, whether it was Royce (O’Neale) talking to someone about multiple efforts, whether it was Mikal talking to someone about getting organized, whether it was the communication of watching a clip in a huddle. It’s just been a great space for us. It is radical as far as what you typically see in the NBA, but I thought with this group we could lean into that and that would really make us better.”
That means buying into open dialogue and communication, telling each other not just what they want to hear but what they need to hear.
“Just being honest with each other, being able to hold each other accountable,” said O’Neale. “You’re not calling each other out in a bad way. It’s just helping each other. We can do better, every player-wise, team-wise. Just being honest.”
The Nets were holding a slim 62-57 after a Jordan Poole floater, but then they pulled away for good.
It was a 7-0 run that took just a minute.
Thomas’ running finger roll capped it, and made it 69-57 midway through the third.
After having coughed up the final six points of the first half to see what had been a nine-point edge shrivel to just three at the break, Brooklyn returned the favor to close the third.
The Nets’ 6-0 run — capped by Dorian Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer — padded the cushion to 90-71.
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