Nets coach Jordi Fernandez doesn't want to see a repeat of loss to Celtics anytime soon
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez reacts in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The message was clear Wednesday night. The Nets’ effort after halftime was unacceptable, and coach Jordi Fernandez didn’t mince words after his team's 139-114 loss to the Celtics.
Fernandez was terse and direct as he cited his team’s lack of fight. The Nets didn’t work hard enough to get through screens. They had 10 second-half turnovers and forced only two by Boston. The Celtics scored 74 points in the second half.
According to NBA.com, the Celtics shot 10-for-20 on three-pointers classified as wide-open, the most made and attempted by any team in Wednesday’s 11 games.
At the same time, Fernandez was less concerned with stats than what his eyes saw.
"It's not what happened. It's how it happened at one point,” he said. “I want our guys moving forward building this thing in a way that we're going to sustain success. This is not who we want to be.”
The Nets faced the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday night in an NBA Cup game and will visit the Garden again on Sunday night. It’s an even steeper degree of difficulty for them after Nic Claxton was ruled out Friday morning with a lower back strain.
Claxton, the Nets said, will receive an epidural injection and his status will be updated in one week. Fernandez said before Friday night's game that it’s “an issue that’s been lingering a little bit” but that the team isn't overly concerned.
With that timeline, he’ll miss at least three games and likely a fourth next Friday at the 76ers. It means the Nets can’t afford to lack effort now that they're giving up size being down two centers in Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe,
The status of Sharpe, sidelined since the preseason with a strained left hamstring, is expected to be updated next week. It means more time playing center for Ben Simmons, Noah Clowney and Dorian Finney-Smith. The latter was cleared Friday after missing the previous two games with a sprained ankle.
Throw in the Knicks’ physical playing style and the Nets will be reminded quickly what happens if they play with lackluster energy.
“You know how they play,” Claxton said Wednesday night. “[Knicks coach Tom] Thibodeau, how the teams are run, so we definitely gonna have to bring that intensity and that awareness mentally for us to compete.”
Twelve games in, the Nets haven’t been embarrassed often. They were overrun by the Magic in their second game of the season and the Pistons out-competed them in the second half. But something about the loss to the Celtics was more troubling than the defending champions flexing their pedigree. Despite losing a close game on Tuesday, they looked more spry than a rested Nets team coming off a win in New Orleans.
It felt like cracks in the Nets’ focus that more teams could expose if the season plays out as expected as a rebuild. They’ll have time to prove whether that’s true in the next two weeks. After the two games against the Knicks, they will host the Hornets on Tuesday and go on a four-game road trip against the 76ers, the Kings, Golden State and the Suns.
It’s a seven-game stretch that could break them or prove they’re the tough-minded team they generally have showed. For Fernandez, it’s why he wants the Nets to remain consistent in bringing the fight to teams instead of giving it up.
“I want our energy to be 200% to be ready to fight, to do it every possession, four quarters,” Fernandez said before Friday night's game. “And I think our guys got the message.”
Bogdanovic update
Bogdan Bogdanovic still has no timeline for a return to action. Fernandez said Wednesday that he’s progressing. It is unclear whether Bogdanovic, who had offseason foot surgery, has resumed contact drills or practiced against teammates.
The Nets said the next update will come sometime in early December. Bogdanovic, who was acquired in the trade that sent Mikal Bridges to the Knicks during the summer, has been with the team on road trips and served as a key voice offering tips on the sideline.
"His involvement is very important,'' Fernandez said. "To me, that means that he’s working, he cares, and whenever he’s physically ready, he’ll be good for us.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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