Vaughn believes injuries took their toll on the Nets during the West Coast road trip

The Brooklyn Nets have been battered by injuries in the 2023/24 season, and it is catching up to them.

© Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

In the early part of the 2023/24 season, the Nets played well despite their abundance of injuries. They lost two-thirds of their starting frontcourt in the season opener as Cameron Johnson and Nic Claxton got sidelined with lower-body injuries.

Coach Jacque Vaughn had to make major adjustments and played a small-ball lineup for a few games. After the frontcourt starters returned, it was the backcourt’s time to implode as Ben Simmons and backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. suffered back injuries. 

Now, these health issues are finally catching up as they struggled during their five-game trip.

“This trip took a toll on us, mentally and physically. So now, we’re 13-13, we gotta go home and regroup. I give our guys credit for giving all that they had. That’s all I ask is to give everything that they had tonight,” Vaughn said after the loss to Utah.

The healthy squad is playing way too many minutes

Mikal Bridges is the most durable player in the league with his well-known consecutive games streak, but he was struggling in the Utah Jazz game, shooting only 4-of-16 from the field.

He has played all 26 games this season averaging 34.9 minutes per game, by far the most out of any player on the roster. It’s not a surprise that he’s huffing and puffing at times during games.

Cam Thomas continues to show playmaking flashes. Noticable shift in mindset from him at the end of some of these plays.

You'd like to see Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton finish this one. Nice look from Cam. pic.twitter.com/ERmAvHs2Xh

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) December 19, 2023

The litany of backcourt injuries meant Mikal had to play more heavy minutes as they didn’t have Lonnie Walker IV, Dennis Smith Jr., and Ben Simmons during the road trip and Dorian Finney-Smith during the Warriors game.

The Nets need to get healthier soon because their starters are being thrust into playing more than 35 minutes per night, which can hamper their consistency and fatigue.

The Nets will dramatically improve when fully healthy

With Ben and Dennis returning to the point guard rotation soon, you can expect the Nets’ defensive strength to improve. Bench scoring will improve again with Lonnie’s return, as he was one of the best sixth men in the league before his injury.

Lonnie Walker IV has always been about a bucket 🪣 which he showed during his stint with LA ☀️

But this season, in his first year with the Nets, Walker is hooping at the most efficient level of his career 📈🧵 pic.twitter.com/yQkPZf8k71

— ENJ🏀Y (@EnjoyBBall) December 14, 2023

Coach Vaughn has constantly dealt with injuries this season; it should be time for him to showcase his tactical brilliance with a complete squad. The team’s potential is quite high, but they have not met that just yet with the current state of their injury report.