Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez quickly proving to be right guy for the job

Just 15 games into this season, Jordi Fernandez’s Nets have an identity.

“We’re gonna pick up and guard, we’re gonna ball-pressure. We’re gonna shoot threes and we’re gonna run,” said Cam Johnson late Tuesday night after Brooklyn’s win over Charlotte. “… I think we’ve done a good job of that so far; not perfect, room for improvement. But I’m excited about the direction this team is headed.”

If you entered this season with dreams of Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey in Brooklyn, you may not share Johnson’s excitement about the Nets’ direction.

They enter Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at 6-9, nowhere near the race for Ace or Cooper.

“They’re feisty,” one opposing Eastern Conference executive said this week. “If you overlook them based on the roster, you will get beat.”

You couldn’t say the same of the 2023-24 Nets. They finished the season with 32 wins and many players looking forward to their summer vacations.

This year, Fernandez’s first as head coach, has a different feel.

“We’re not going to back down from anybody,” Johnson said after the Nets had to be separated from their opponents in games against New York and Charlotte.

“We’re not out here looking to just pick fights and be dumb, but we’re not going to back down.”

The Nets face a Sixers team mired in the kind of controversy you saw in Brooklyn often during the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving era. The Sixers are 2-11; their star center, Joel Embiid, has been suspended for shoving a local columnist. He’s also reportedly been called out in a team meeting for being late to work.

(For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone is hitting the panic button in Philadelphia yet. Amid the noise over the team meeting, members of the Sixers continue to express confidence that the team will be fine once they are fully healthy.)

Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) takes a shot against New York Knicks center Ariel Hukporti (55) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden / Brad Penner – Imagn Images

Back to the Nets: They seem to have gotten it right with Fernandez. The first-year head coach has gotten buy-in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nets-head-coach-jordi-fernandez-200057900.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-11-22 20:00:00

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