The Nets got off to a better-than-expected start under new head coach Jordi Fernandez this season, winning five of their first 11 games after entering the season with the NBA’s lowest projected win total. But they were on the wrong end of a blowout on Wednesday, falling at home to the defending champion Celtics by 25 points. As Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes, Fernandez wasn’t happy with his team’s effort.
“I’m OK with losing, but I’m not okay with, at one point in the game, not fighting,” Fernandez said. “You can never, ever, ever, quit or look defeated, whatever the case may be. We have to continue to do things the right way, and if one night the other team is better than you, then you gotta respect it. But this — flashes of not doing the right things — this is not what we want to be at all.
“And we haven’t done it. It’s just easier against adversity. Whatever you want to call ‘adversity,’ to me, it’s all excuses. The NBA, it is what it is. Everybody deals with stuff and you don’t want to be like, finding the excuse. We have more than enough to be better than this. To me, that’s plain and simple.”
Fernandez’s players didn’t disagree with his assessment.
“S–t. He just pretty much stood on business,” center Nic Claxton said when asked about his coach’s comments. “We need to play hard. That’s not the way you lose. Of course, you never want to lose games. But that’s not the way that you lose. We didn’t fight all the way through.”
Here’s more out of Brooklyn:
- The Nets haven’t provided any official update on injured forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who continues to recover from offseason surgery on his foot. Lewis hears from a source that no formal update is anticipated until sometime in December, but Fernandez addressed Bogdanovic’s progress on Wednesday. “I saw him on the court shooting (Wednesday). But playing 5-on-5 and in a real game, he’s progressing well. We’re not gonna give an exact date, but he’s doing good,” the Nets’ coach said. “He’s in good spirits, he had a good week. He was with us on the road. Having him around is important because he’s a veteran. He’ll talk in huddles, he gives guys tips on what to do and his involvement is very important.”
- Ben Simmons (left calf tightness) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) both missed Wednesday’s game vs. Boston, with Simmons undergoing an MRI on his calf, Lewis notes. Fernandez downplayed both ailments, referring to Simmons’ MRI as “precautionary” and suggesting that the former No. 1 overall pick is day-to-day. As for Finney-Smith, Fernandez said his ankle sprain isn’t serious and the team simply wants him to be “200 percent and ready to go” before he’s cleared to return.
- Kyle Hines, a former UNC Greensboro standout who had a long, successful career in Europe, winning four EuroLeague championships, has joined the Nets’ coaching staff, according to agent Misko Razanatovic on Instagram (hat tip to Eurohoops). Hines’ exact title and role in Brooklyn is unclear.
“You can never, ever, ever, quit or look defeated, whatever the case may be.”
I get what Fernandez is saying, especially with a young team, but the reality is you absolutely will, will, will see games like this once in a blue moon from every team. Players are human. Going 100% every minute of every game of the course of a season is not going to happen for a variety of reasons. The key is to simply not let it become a habit.