The Brooklyn Nets had an interesting beginning to Sunday when it was announced that head coach Jordi Fernandez wouldn’t be coaching in their home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Lead assistant coach Steve Hetzel was appointed to be the acting head coach in Fernandez’s absence and he was able to have a great experience doing so filling in.
“It was a lot of fun, I thought, just watching how well we played as a team,” Hetzel said after Sunday’s 127-82 win over the Bucks. Despite the fact that Milwaukee was missing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brooklyn still came into the game as an betting underdog and that was before Fernandez was ruled out with his illness. The Nets were not dissuaded from giving their best effort, either.
“Normally, Mike [forward Michael Porter Jr.] has been carrying us offensively, and then, you see how spread out the points are amongst the group,” Hetzel continued. “I don’t think anybody that stepped on the court played poorly. [It was a) complete team effort. They really wanted we set the goal to be three and two in the five game series. They accomplished it. It was a great feeling.”
Sunday was the first time that Hetzel has had the chance to be the head coach in an NBA game, despite the opportunity coming from Fernandez falling ill. Either way, Hetzel, who has been an assistant coach in the NBA since the 2011-12 season, was not only able to keep the ship afloat in Fernandez’s absence, but he also guided his team to beat Milwaukee in a dominant, if not surprising, fashion.
Sunday’s 45-point victory over the Bucks was tied for the largest margin of victory in Nets history, a feat that goes back to 1993 when the Nets beat the Washington Bullets 124-79. Despite Porter struggling to the tune of 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, Brooklyn still shot 53.0% from the field and 44.0% from three-point land, led by rookie guard Egor Demin and his 17 points and three assists.