The Brooklyn Nets (0-5) are still looking for their first win of the 2025-26 NBA season, but they have been unable to make enough plays to close games in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn has not avoided the fact that they are developing five rookies from the 2025 NBA Draft class, but head coach Jordi Fernandez is going to lean on his veterans against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
“I think that a lot of times, you have to find a way to be better, and and to show an identity. Right there with Tyrese, because he’s a grown up, and he’s got an amazing summer, and he’s a rock star like [he] does everything we ask him to the best of his abilities,” Fernandez said of guard Tyrese Martin prior to Sunday’s matchup against the 76ers. Following his pregame press conference, it was surprising to see that Martin will be starting at point guard instead of rookie Ben Saraf.
“He makes mistakes like everybody else. But, I think right there, we played one of our best defensive quarters, we gave ourselves a chance,” Fernandez continued while explaining why Martin closed as the point guard during Wednesday’s 117-112 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. “He’s a very good shooter, so all those things together, it’s not just a lot of times show a younger guy, ‘Hey, you’re supposed to do this.’ A lot of times is ‘look how he does it.'”
Saraf had been starting at the point guard spot for the Nets since the season began partially due to the fact that he impressed during training camp along with fellow rookie Egor Demin recovering from his left plantar fascia tear during the offseason. Saraf had shown some glimpses of what he could be once he gets accustomed to playing in the NBA, but Brooklyn has benefitted by having more scoring on the floor, something Martin can do right now.
Martin is on his way to having another solid season for the Nets as he is averaging 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 39.4% from the field and 35.0% from three-point land. Brooklyn is intent on developing Demin, Saraf, and the rest of the rookies over the course of this season, but it seems like Fernandez needs more experience at the point guard spot for the time being.