Head coach Jacque Vaughn and the Nets opened training camp in Industry City on Tuesday. AP Photo by Mary Altaffer
While the New York Liberty continue to gear up for start of the WNBA Finals this weekend in Las Vegas, Downtown Brooklyn’s other basketball squad opened training camp Tuesday afternoon in Industry City.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn put the Nets through their paces at the HSS Training Center, beginning the run-up to Monday’s preseason opener vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in Sin City.
“Great to just have the group together. Day one together, from the start,” said Vaughn. “To see our guys be able to compete, work with each other, sweat with each other and start this process, which is great.”
The Nets went 45-37 last season before bowing out in four straight games to Philadelphia in the opening round of the playoffs.
The early postseason exit came after a tumultuous campaign that saw Vaughn replace Steve Nash at the helm by the start of November and superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving dealt away in February.
Vaughn, who is opening his first camp as head coach here in Brooklyn, is excited to have returnees like Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, Spencer Dinwiddie and an eager Ben Simmons together and healthy to begin 5-on-5 practices.
“I think you get to build some chemistry early on. This is the time to do it, if you’re going to do it,” Vaughn noted.
“I think we’re all learning pretty fast,” added Bridges, who averaged a team-high 26.1 points per game during his 27-game stint here last season.
The Nets will be training here in Brooklyn with their 18-man roster until Friday before running practices in Vegas next weekend before their opener against the Lakers.
Brooklyn will play its preseason home opener on Oct. 12 vs. Maccabi Ra’anana of the Israeli National League. The Nets will host Philadelphia on Oct. 16 before closing out the exhibition slate on Oct. 18 at Miami.
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