Brooklyn Nets HC Jordi Fernández After Portland Defeat: ‘I Have to Be Better'

The 42-year-old head coach shouldered his team’s third consecutive loss.

Feb 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez looks on during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernández was frank while assessing his team’s Friday night loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. 

"They were the better team tonight. The most physical, the most connected. They played really hard the whole 48 minutes and we did not play hard consistently, and that's what happens in the NBA," the Nets bench boss said.

The Nets dropped their third straight game, with Fernández constantly pointing to his team’s effort in his post-match press conference. Portland outscored Brooklyn by 17 points in just the first half.

“I have to be better,” Fernández said. “I have to help them better. It is not the first time that we don't show up from the beginning, then we wake up a little bit and it's not good enough. This is not who we want to be, and we're building our identity.” 

By the time the Nets cut down the Blazers’ lead to single digits, it was a typical case of too little, too late. All five of Portland's starters scored 10 or more points, with Canadian guard Dalano Banton leading the charge off the bench with 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Fernández referred to his team’s ball pressure as not being good enough in this contest.

“Our rotations were poor, we were coming out of the rotations slow, and there's no magic trick,” he said. “The only thing we can do is do it all together and do it with intensity, do it 100% and communicating. and we didn't see that.”

On the offensive end, Fernández pointed to a “lack of readiness,” as well as “no setups” and “poor spacing.” He was unhappy about the Nets’ 21 turnovers and low volume of three-pointers, with just 29 shots from downtown being attempted. That was a stark comparison to the Nets’ Wednesday game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, when the team converted a season-high 23 threes while shooting a franchise-record 61 attempts.

“We have very good NBA players, we have guys that work every day, we have guys that are more than capable [of] bring[ing] the ball [up], space the floor, play with pace and and once again, this is not the shot chart that we want," he siad. "It's poor, and I have to be better because it is not good enough.”

One topic of discussion following this loss was Ziaire Williams’ minutes — or lack thereof. The Nets wing only played for 10:28 minutes, a season-low. Williams had been partially responsible for the Nets' three-point volume against the Thunder, putting up 13 shots from downtown. Fernández said that there was “nothing wrong” with Williams, while the latter said he had “no idea” for his decrease in playing time. 

Next, the Nets will complete a back-to-back on Saturday night with a road game against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have beaten the Nets twice already this season.

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