The Brooklyn Nets are in a rebuilding year and aren’t expected to compete for a playoff spot or be on par with the league’s contenders. But that’s not the mindset or approach of their first-year NBA head coach Jordi Fernandez, who evidently didn’t get the memo.
Brooklyn responded from their worst loss thus far this season, falling 106-92 on Sunday to the Detroit Pistons, who came into the Barclays Center 1-5, to earn their best win to date the following night against the Memphis Grizzlies, defeating Ja Morant and company at home 106-104. Starting center Ben Simmons (health maintenance) and key reserve Noah Clowney (hip) were not in the lineup. It has only been eight games or about 10% of the season, but thus far, first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez is pushing the right buttons for the 4-4 Nets, who were third overall in the Eastern Conference behind the 8-0 Cleveland Cavaliers and 7-1 Boston Celtics when Tuesday’s league schedule tipped-off. After saying the loss to Detroit was the Nets’ poorest game and the team lacked focused shortly before his players took the court to face Memphis, Fernandez commended his squad hours later for being engaged and locked in against the Grizzlies. “It was great to see and it builds trust and it gives the group joy,” he said. “We felt like we should have been better (against Detroit) and then you have another opportunity today, you’re refocused. They were really good with the game prep and executing everything. It wasn’t always pretty out there, but it was very competitive, It was a grind. Once again, I think the Brooklyn grid showed up and we ended up with a win. So very happy with this, with the group and what the group accomplished.”
Fernandez uses buzzwords and catchphrases to characterize and inspire the group collectively and individually, including referring to 6’ 3” guard Cam Thomas’s ability to proficiently score “a superpower.” Thomas is averaging 24.9 points per game over the first eight games. The Nets have established a style of play which is highlighted by them pressuring the ball on defense, playing fast but under control offensively, and taking high-quality shots with an emphasis on shooting volume threes. Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone, who led his team to the 2023 NBA championship, noted that Fernandez has long had the skills to be an NBA head coach. “You just saw his enthusiasm for the game, his passion for the game, and how he worked his way up,” Malone said of Fernandez, an assistant coach with the Nuggets from 2016 to 2022. “How he became a G-League head coach for the Cavs. All of his work with the Spanish national team, the Nigerian national team, now the Canadian national team.”
Malone continued with his praise: “He has a really unique background and has coached at almost every different level. And obviously, when I had an opening on my staff in Denver, because of our relationship and confidence in him, he came in and did a great job for us and the Nuggets before heading to Sacramento.”
The Nets’ front office, led by team owner Joseph Tsai and general manager Sean Marks, hired Fernandez after he spent the previous three seasons as the Kings associate head coach.
Brooklyn embarks on a three-game road trip starting against the Boston Celtics tomorrow, the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, and the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday before returning home to host the Boston Celtics next Wednesday.
