Vaughn’s Trust In Claxton Despite Free Throw Woes Pays Off In Nets’ Stunning Win Over Warriors
Does trust breed winning or does winning breed trust?
I’ve never quite figured out how the chicken-or-the-egg riddle pertains to sports, and the last two Nets games only muddled the question.
With Brooklyn at a low point following its fourth consecutive defeat since superstar forward Kevin Durant was felled by an MCL sprain, 117-112, at injury-depleted Phoenix on Thursday, the chatter was about survival, with no one talking about trust.
Then the Nets got a possible preview of the treatment they could receive in the postseason during Sunday’s tremendous 120-116 comeback victory at Golden State for their second win in a row. Given how efficient Brooklyn’s offense had been this season when KD and Kyrie Irving led the way by knocking down shots from every level at absurd rates, some coaches were bound to calculate whether intentionally fouling the Nets’ weaker free throw shooters Nic Claxton and Ben Simmons made mathematical sense. Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr was the first to attempt a full-bore “Hack-a” strategy against the Nets this season, repeatedly sending Claxton to the line on Sunday.
In the first half, Golden State’s strategy paid off, with Claxton bricking 5-of-7 foul shots as the Nets fell behind by 17 points before a little run sent them down, 72-60, at intermission. Claxton’s free throw woes weren’t his only issue—he wasn’t making his usual rim protection impact either, with the Warriors converting 16-of-22 attempts in the paint (the 32 paint points were the sixth-most Brooklyn has allowed in a first half over their 46 games this season).
Nets Head Coach Jacque Vaughn could be forgiven if he tethered Claxton to the bench for much of the second half, though I’m pretty sure Kerr would have simply adjusted his scheme to hack Simmons instead unless Vaughn opted to play large stretches with an unsustainably small lineup. However, Vaughn also understood that the Nets needed Claxton at his best to have a chance at turning the game around against the defending NBA champs.
And in the second half, Vaughn’s trust in his 23-year old center was rewarded. While Irving’s virtuoso two-way performance (38 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 5-for-7 from deep, plus 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and sensational one-on-one defense when tasked with the tough challenge of guarding Warriors superstar Stephen Curry) generated the headlines, the Nets’ long flight home after the game would have been very somber if not for Claxton’s contributions down the stretch.
Claxton tallied 18 of his 24 points and 8 of his 15 rebounds, both career highs, in the second half. In addition, he extended his streak of recording at least three blocked shots to a franchise-record 12 consecutive games, with all three swats coming after halftime. His rejuvenated presence was partially responsible for the Warriors suddenly regressing to 36% shooting in the paint (9-for-25) in the second half.
Free throw shooting will continue to limit Claxton’s ceiling as a player—he’s down to 46% on the season after his 6-for-15 outing versus the Warriors—but it is not affecting his aggression the way it seemingly has with Simmons, to the frustration of his Nets teammates, coaches, and fans. To the contrary, Claxton typically sets the tone on both ends, with his get-after-it mentality often igniting Brooklyn runs.
Like it did on Sunday. With Brooklyn trailing, 110-98 halfway through the fourth quarter, the Warriors sent Claxton to the line, where he had gone 3-for-10 to that point. This time, though, Claxton knocked down both free throws, which seemed to energize him and the team. Claxton then rebounded a Klay Thompson missed three-pointer and, on Brooklyn’s ensuing possession, he drove in from the top of the key into the paint, where Warriors defensive whiz Draymond Green was waiting on him. With a slight move to his right, Claxton got Green to twitch his left leg just enough so that Vaughn was able to successfully challenge the original offensive charge call, giving the Nets a three-point play to get within seven points after Claxton’s made free throw. Brooklyn then got another stop and Claxton finished off the early offense by taking an Irving feed to the hole for another bucket.
Claxton did misfire on a pair of free throws after an intentional foul with 3:26 remaining, leading to his substitution in favor of Yuta Watanabe, but it was only temporary. Once the game got inside two minutes, when intentional off-ball fouls carry two shots-and-the-ball penalties, Vaughn sent Claxton back out onto the floor to help the Nets finish the game.
Afterwards, Vaughn told the assembled media that he considered the Warriors’ hacking scheme to be a good thing for Claxton and the team in the long run. I’m not sure that these experiences will lead to improved efficiency at the line come playoff time, but I do think that the trust Vaughn embraced in his still-developing big man helped Claxton maintain his overall confidence.
And speaking of trust, how about Irving dishing to an open teammate in the final minute for a second straight tight contest instead of hoisting some hero-ball garbage? In Friday’s 117-106 victory in Utah, Irving read the help defense on his drive into the paint and made the right basketball play in finding Seth Curry alone in the right corner, where his three-pointer proved to be the dagger. On Sunday, the Warriors, who had pulled ahead by one point in the final minute, sent the house onto Irving, leaving Royce O’Neale open for an above-the-break three-point attempt with 27 seconds remaining. O’Neale’s shot was pure, giving him 10 points this season on 4-for-4 shooting (including 2-for-2 from behind the arc) in games where the Nets were within a two-point margin in the last minute, per NBA.com. Only Durant has scored more in those clutch situations, and five of his 12 points have come from the foul line.
Missed bombs from Thompson and Curry closed out a 5:24 stretch where the Warriors were outscored, 22-6, thanks to 1-for-9 shooting and 4 turnovers, and the Nets (29-17) had a highly improbable win to move into a third-place tie with Milwaukee. Their trip to Philadelphia on Wednesday will conclude their five-game road swing.
Sometime before then, the Nets are expected to give an update on Durant’s progress. The likelihood, based on ESPN’s initial report, is that he’ll still be a few weeks away from returning to action. The good news is that what started out as a period that was trending toward a death spiral in KD’s absence has suddenly morphed into one where the team has earned our trust that it can potentially tread water.