Run, pass, special teams: Nets defensive scheme is working, but not winning games

The Nets have taken away the run and the pass, but have lost Games 1 and 2 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on special teams.

And they’re OK with that.

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn likes to use a football analogy to describe his defensive game plan against a stacked Sixers team headlined by presumptive league Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid and former MVP James Harden.

Embiid and Harden — namely the damage the duo does at the foul line — are the run and the pass. Philadelphia’s complementary players are the special teams.

And the returns have been positive: Embiid hasn’t come close to his season average against the Nets this series despite dominating them in regular-season play over the years. And after Harden pelted the Nets for seven threes in Brooklyn’s 20-point loss in Game 1 in Philly, the Nets held him to just 3-of-13 shooting from the field and two-of-eight shooting from behind the arc for eight points.

Both of those games, however, resulted in losses: Tobias Harris scored at least 20 points in both Games 1 and 2, and when the Nets decided to take away the pass — limit Harden after his explosive outing in Game 1 — Tyrese Maxey exploded for 33 points and six threes.

Death by special teams.

The only way to take away Embiid is to send more than one player at him. He’s just that good and that dominant of a player against a Nets team without a sizable big man to boot.

Yet doing that opens Brooklyn up to tertiary offensive players getting open looks, and the scrambling defense that it takes to close out on those players leaves the Nets — an already poor rebounding team — susceptible to getting beat on the boards.

As a result, Vaughn’s game plan has sparked a nationally-televised conversation: If the Nets are losing to Philadelphia’s third and fourth options, is it worth trying to switch things up?

[ Nets Notebook: Cam Thomas minutes would take away from someone else, says Jacque Vaughn ]

Is it worth taking away the special teams and letting the Sixers run the ball instead?

Is it worth playing Embiid straight up and making him score 50 points if they can keep Philly’s other players in check?

“That was a big part of our film session yesterday, which was backed up by analytics and stats of what we’ve been able to accomplish as a group, what we decided on that we were going to try to take away, and what has it produced,” Vaughn said ahead of tipoff in Game 3 against the Sixers at Barclays Center on Thursday. “And then, we really called it a reality check of our expectations.”

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The Nets have accomplished priority No. 1, so much that Sixers head coach Doc Rivers appeared frustrated with the lack of trips to the line for both Embiid and Harden so far in the first round. Embiid averaged 10 of his 33.7 points per game at the foul line during the regular season, and Harden — who averaged 6.7 trips to the foul line per game during the season — didn’t attempt a free throw at all through Games 1 and 2.

“They’re doing a pretty good job of trying to show their hands. I don’t want to sound like I’m campaigning, but I am,” Rivers said ahead of tipoff on Thursday. “James and Joel do lead the league in terms of missed calls in terms of fouls. They get fouled the most.”

After two games, the defensive philosophy hasn’t won a game — but it has come close. The Nets lost, 96-84, in Game 2 but chalked that loss up to a poor night shooting from behind the arc. They believe the basketball gods will be more kind in front of their own home fans at Barclays Center after two tough road losses in Philadelphia.

“So we come into the series: Did we want to limit Harden and Embiid’s free throws? Well we’ve done that,” Vaughn said on Thursday. “Both of them are shooting under their season average, so we’ve done that with discipline and game plan. Joel’s ability to score. We know he can do that. The first game, they made shots.

“The second game, we kept them under 100 points, so really pointing out to the group and giving them a reality check of what we’ve been able to accomplish. There’s some things we can control, can’t control, and we’re gonna try to influence some things also.”

The thing about the Sixers, however, is they’re not a one trick pony. There are four players in that starting five who can erupt for a big scoring night. Rivers explained just how difficult it can be to keep a team with multiple ball-handling options in check — which is the task the Nets face if they’re going to stand a chance in this series already down 0-2.

“The more guys each team has, the more difficult it is to take away a key guy,” he said. “When you focus on that guy, and they move the ball, and they have guys that can put it on the floor and make plays, it makes it difficult for your defense.”