Nets’ recent success has them back among best in NBA

Ben Simmons returned from a leg injury two weeks ago. The Nets were playing Atlanta at home, looking to close out a successful homestand.

They won that night to finish 6-1 in a pivotal seven-game stretch at the Barclays Center.

They were in a good place, but Simmons didn’t want to make too much of the team’s strong play over the previous two weeks.

“It it’s still early. We know we have a long way to go,” he said that night. “A lot of guys in and out, the rotations changing a lot. But it’s the same focus, building day by day.”

The day-by-day approach has worked well since that night. If the Nets had built a foundation in that homestand, they’ve added a great ground floor since.

They’re 5-0 since that Atlanta game. They’ll carry a seven-game winning streak into Friday’s game against Milwaukee.

Overall, they’ve won 11 of their past 12.

It’s not a stretch to say that the Nets are playing the best basketball in the NBA right now.

There are many factors behind Brooklyn’s success. Three of them? Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Jacque Vaughn.

The team is 18-7 since Vaughn took over for Steve Nash.

They are fourth in net rating under Vaughn. The Nets are also sixth in offensive rating and ninth in defensive rating since Vaughn took over.

Irving’s averaging 24 points, four rebounds and four assists under Vaughn while shooting 50 percent from the floor.

Durant is playing some of the best basketball of his career at the moment. He’s averaging 30 points per game on an astounding 56 percent shooting. He’s hitting 63 percent of his two-point…