Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez expressed his optimism for the future of the team, particularly following their massive trade deal with the Golden State Warriors. Among other things he is positive about, he pointed to new acquire Ben Simmons who he talked about as their hope for improvement on both ends of the court.
In a press interview, coach Fernandez compared their previous point guard, Dennis Schroder, to new point guard Ben Simmons. He highlighted how Schroder was part of the bottom list when it comes to point guards, with Simmons at a slightly higher position.
“Dennis was a bottom-ten or the 10th-slowest point guard in the NBA,” Fernandez said. “Pace doesn’t mean you’re better or worse, and Ben is 18th [among the] fastest. So, right there is the answer.”
Jordi Fernandez on how the Nets’ offense will change with Ben Simmons running the point instead of Dennis Schroder:
“Dennis was the 10th slowest point guard in the NBA… And Ben is 18th fastest. So right there is the answer. We’re going to try to play faster. The ball’s going… pic.twitter.com/eA2JkoIQw1
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) December 17, 2024
The head coach went on to express his confidence in how Simmons would turn out for the team.
“We’re going to try to play faster. The ball is going to fly; he’s going to push, he’s going to throw it ahead, and we have more opportunities to get those shots early in the clock. The high-quality shots.”
So far this season, Ben Simmons has averaged 5.2 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. He has not played much with the Golden State Warriors this season, partly due to his injury woes and limitations set by the team on his game minutes.
Coach Fernandez on Brooklyn Nets: “We Have to Be Better Defensively”
The Brooklyn Nets do have a lot of room for improvement for the 2024-2025 season, with defense being one of them.
The Nets currently sit near the bottom of the league when it comes to defense, with a rating of 114.7 this season. To compare, the current top defensive team is the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a defense rating of 103.7. The worst defensive team is the Washington Wizards at 123.
With this in mind, coach Fernandez explained how a “bigger” starter lineup with Simmons replacing Schroder could benefit the team.
“We still want to do certain things with purpose, and running starts with defense,” Fernandez said. “So, we have to be better defensively, we have to rebound. That’s how you get run as well. We’re a different group. We’ll have bigger lineups. We’ve been complaining about being so small, and now we are bigger.”
The Brooklyn Nets currently stand 10th in the Eastern Conference and have a record of 10-15.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
