Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernández Confirms First Lineup of Preseason

The Nets will be going with a centerless but versatile five-man combo.

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Now Brooklyn Nets-head coach Jordi Fernandez gestures during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said that his first preseason lineup on Tuesday vs. the LA Clippers will feature two point guards in Dennis Schröder and Ben Simmons accompanied by Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith.

“That gives you a lot of things to do defensively,” Fernández said in comments reported by The New York Post’s Brian Lewis. “And then offensively, like I said before, two playmakers and floor spacers. So it's going to be fun."

This lineup played zero minutes together last season, per PBP Stats. Simmons, Thomas, Johnson and Finney-Smith played 12 minutes without Schröder. Removing Simmons from that four-man lineup and replacing him with Schröder provides a similarly tiny sample size of 26 minutes.

Simmons will nominally be the center, at least on offense, but it appears that the Nets’ plan is to play fast, long and versatile. Defensive matchups are a bigger question for this lineup in the long-term, but it is a preseason game and the Clippers are not the biggest team in the frontcourt regardless outside of Ivica Zubac. 

Fernández’s very first lineup decision was compounded by Nic Claxton’s untimely sore hamstring that will keep him out of Tuesday night’s game. The Nets' big signed a four-year, $100 million contract this summer, but the team is not concerned with his health status overall and working towards having him healthy for the start of the regular season. Claxton also sat out of a scrimmage last Thursday. 

Brooklyn will be without Day’Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford as well, with both dealing with hamstring problems as well. The Nets announced that Watford will be evaluated in two weeks, whereas Sharpe will be checked on in six weeks. 

The NBA regular season starts in two weeks on Oct. 22, making it very likely that the Nets’ frontcourt depth will be impacted to start the season. That represents an opportunity for second-year forward Noah Clowney, who can play both the 4-man and 5-man. Simmons and Finney-Smith can play in the frontcourt, as will be the case in the Nets’ first preseason game, but cannot play the traditional center role.

The Nets’ Tuesday preseason game against the Clippers starts at 10:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM PT. The Clippers lost their first preseason game against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 5.

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