Steve Nash Won't Coach for Nets vs. Raptors Due to NBA's COVID-19 Protocols

The Brooklyn Nets will be without head coach Steve Nash for Monday's home game against the Toronto Raptors.

Malika Andrews of ESPN reported he was placed in the league's COVID-19 protocols.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported assistant coach Jacque Vaughn will take over as head coach while Nash is sidelined. The Nets are also scheduled to face the Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday as the second half of a back-to-back.

Brooklyn has been among the NBA teams that have generated the most COVID-related headlines this season since Kyrie Irving remains unvaccinated and ineligible to play in home games.

That means the Nets will be without their coach and star point guard for Monday's important game against a fellow Eastern Conference contender.

Brooklyn enters Monday's play in the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and one game behind the seventh-seeded Raptors. It is also three games behind the Boston Celtics for the critical No. 6 seed that will avoid the play-in tournament for the Nos. 7-10 seeds.

The head-to-head games against Toronto will be key for the race for that No. 6 seed and the battle for home-court advantage for the play-in tournament if the Nets cannot chase down the Celtics and other top contenders in the East.

Nash, who was a Hall of Fame player, is in his second season of coaching in Brooklyn. The team went 48-24 in his first season and reached the second round of the playoffs, where it lost in seven games to the eventual-champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Vaughn, who also played as a point guard, has head coaching experience.

He coached the Orlando Magic from 2012-13 until he was fired during the 2014-15 season and posted a combined 58-158 record. He also guided the Nets to a 7-3 mark as an interim coach following the firing of Kenny Atkinson in 2019-20.