Nets Show Notable Defensive Improvement in Second Matchup Against Suns

In their first taste of preseason action against a fellow NBA squad, the Brooklyn Nets' defense didn't exude the effort and intensity we came to expect from the Jordi Fernandez-led bunch in 2024-25.

But to be fair, it was the team's first time competing alongside one another, and kinks were obviously going to pop up. Brooklyn added too many new pieces in the offseason for their implementation to be completely seamless. What was important was that they correct the issues, which the Nets seemingly did in a rematch of the opening loss to the Phoenix Suns, again at The Venetian Arena.

This time, Fernandez and company came out on top, holding a Devin Booker-led offense to just 109 points in the narrow victory. While Booker matched his point total of 18 from the prior meeting, Brooklyn's defense was much improved overall.

Last time out, the Nets conceded the aforementioned 18 points to Booker, another 18 to Dillon Brooks, 19 points to Jordan Goodwin off the bench, and 21 combined between Collin Gillespie and lottery selection Khaman Maluach.

Today was different, excluding Booker. Brooks scored six fewer points on an inefficient 4-of-9 shooting, Goodwin posted just seven and Gillespie and Maluach combined for 15 rather than 21.

The group also recorded 8 steals and a block while forcing 11 turnovers overall.

Since the lone two preseason games the Nets have participated in, we've now had the opportunity to evaluate where they may stand once regular season play begins since they played the same opponent twice—which is a big help. In real-time, Brooklyn's fanbase got to watch Fernandez make the proper adjustments to prevent an offensive explosion, and it led to a quality victory in an exhibition match.

If this rapid improvement can become a calling card for the Nets, they could end up being far better than most expect. Fernandez's ability to correct these issues in such little time is quite impressive, and if it carries over to other aspects where the team needs improvement, the second-year head coach will begin receiving the praise he deserves.

Phoenix isn't expected to be anything more than a fun and frisky group, but these kinds of performances can be contagious. Brooklyn now gets to take what it learned in preparation for the Suns game and apply it to their next bout, coincidentally against another team with an underrated scoring attack: the Toronto Raptors.

It will be interesting to see if the effort and intensity translate on Oct. 17.