Google News Kevin Durant shares thoughts on new Nets coach Jacques Vaugn
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Kevin Durant says he sees the effort Jacques Vaughn is putting up every day as he is happy that Brooklyn Nets players have bought into Vaughn's philosophy. After Steve Nash was fired, the Nets named Vaugh as their interim head coach.
The Nets were reportedly close to signing suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, but in the end refused to go that route. Instead, they promoted Vaughn from the interim coach to the head coach position. Previously, Vaughn worked as an assistant for the Nets for seven seasons.
On Wednesday, Vaughn had his first game as the Nets' head coach. His debut could not have gone any better as the Nets ousted the New York Knicks 112-85. "I was excited for him. I know the work that he puts in every day. I know how much he cares about the development of each player, and this team as a whole.
Look forward to playing for him. All the guys have responded to how he wants us to play, so I'm looking forward to how we progress after this," Durant said, per ESPN.
Durant on why the Nets are playing better since Vaughn took over
The Nets have been playing better since Vaughn replaced Nash.
When Durant was asked why that was the case, he didn't want to compare Vaughn and Nash but did suggest that Nets players have ralied together in recent days. "We were struggling, we've been through a lot. Guys got pride, individual pride, and we just wanted to come out and play better.
That's what we've been doing. We don't want this to be a honeymoon stage for us, we want to continue to keep pushing through, keep finding ways to get better, finding ways to turn those weaknesses into strengths and keep pushing from here," Durant explained.
On Wednesday night, the Nets came out firing against the Knicks. After winning the first quarter with a 38-22 score, they also won the second quarter with a nine-point margin to be up by 25 at the halftime. "I think we really came out with the right mindset.
That first group really established our will. We picked up full court, really tried to put an imprint on the game and then guys just filtered in off the bench and had an impact. Kevin's job of getting the group going, his ability to be a hub for us, rebound for us, come up with a triple-double, set the tone," Vaughn said.