Brooklyn Nets HC Jordi Fernández Stresses the Importance of Rebounding

The Brooklyn Nets fell 109-104 on the road to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but head coach Jordi Fernández was happy with aspects of his team's performance.

He said: “Proud of the guys because the first half was impressive. 20 assists and 23 field goals. We ended up with 31 assists and 39 made field goals, which is very, very good. I just wished we would have been rewarded with a win. A lot of good things, a lot of positives, a lot of things we can learn from and then just move on.”

The Cavs picked up their second 15th consecutive winning streak of the season with their Tuesday night win against the Nets. Cam Thomas led Brooklyn in scoring with 27 points, to go along with one rebound and three assists. Fernández’s favorite stretch of the game was the Nets’ first half, in which the team “played through” the 23-year-old guard.

“He passed the ball early and then the ball has an energy, then it got back to him [and] he had 16 points in the first half,” Fernández said. “It's just part of him getting back in playing shape and playing right now over 30 minutes, which is good to see. And once he gets to play at that intensity and physicality for the whole game, it's going to be scary.”

Thomas, at 31 minutes, topped the 30-minute mark for the first time since returning from injury on March 3. He started against Cleveland alongside Keon Johnson, Cam Johnson, Ziaire Williams and Nic Claxton.

Despite the Nets’ bright start, Fernández was less happy with his team’s second half — while also giving the Cavs credit for their increased physicality. The Brooklyn bench boss admitted that the free throw disparity between both squads “usually doesn’t work this way” in the NBA — “where, like, the team that is very physical doesn't get called [for] any fouls” — but was adamant that the league does a great job with its last two minute reports, and that he would move on from any decisions. 

Fernández said: “We cannot control those things. That's why I keep telling the guys is, ‘Keep playing through it.’” 

The Nets’ head coach wants to keep seeing more from his team on the glass. The Nets were outrebounded 48 to 38 by the Cavs, and Jarrett Allen's six offensive rebounds were more than all of Brooklyn's starters combined.

“At [some] point, we got to take ownership and we gotta rebound,” Fernández said. “Finish[ing] possessions is important. Then you can run, then you're not wrestling at half-court, and you get a shot early in the clock. [...] We scored 18 fast break points, we could have scored 25.” 

Fernández brought up rebounding following the first night of the Nets’ back-to-back, in which Ziaire Williams came up with a big offensive board to help beat the Los Angeles Lakers. Then, he said that those offensive rebounds are "playoff basketball if you think about it" and that the Nets continue to need that growth and situational understanding.

Up next, Brooklyn remains on the road to face the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. The Bulls are currently 27-38 and sitting at 10th in the Eastern Conference.