{"id":535247,"date":"2026-01-14T03:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T03:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/535247\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T03:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T03:35:23","slug":"nets-come-crashing-back-down-to-earth-coach-knows-at-least-one-reason-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/535247\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets come crashing back down to earth, coach knows at least one reason why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reality has returned for the Nets. They\u2019ve come crashing back down to earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s 113-105 loss to the Mavericks <\/a>in Dallas marked their seventh defeat in eight games. That stretch immediately followed 10 games in which they went 7-3 and flirted with turning this season into something more than tanking talk and daydreams about the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There had been, briefly, genuine excitement about this young core. During those 10 games, the Nets had a defensive rating of 103.5 points \u2014 the best in the NBA. That stretch included wins over the Timberwolves, 76ers, Raptors and Bulls \u2014 all teams currently in the playoff picture.\u00a0For all but one of those games, they were doing it without Cam Thomas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"DallasDallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) makes a basket over Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

But their last eight games have more closely resembled who they\u2019ve been most of the season \u2014 some exciting young pieces but not yet ready to compete. During that stretch, the Nets defensive rating regressed all the way to 119.6 \u2014 fifth worst in the NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez identified one culprit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe turnovers in transition, and then the fast break points,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said after Monday\u2019s game. \u201cSome of those turnovers created fast break points, but then just fast break points alone. When we\u2019ve been good getting back in transition, we\u2019ve been a very good defense for a big stretch of games. Right now, we\u2019re not doing a very good job and I have to do a better job helping them with those rules, maybe get a little bit more work in. If not, with film and get back to those principles. I believe our group can do it, because I\u2019ve seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, after a few weeks of fun, the season reverts back to what was always envisioned \u2014 developing the youth and looking ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rookie Drake Powell, part of that youth, got just the second start of his career Monday. He recorded 10 points and a rebound in 25 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was a big part of the dominant defense during that winning stretch. Lately, not so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFollow all the basketball buzz in Brooklyn\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Nets by Brian Lewis, exclusively on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot different from college,\u201d Powell said Monday. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to show your hands a lot. That\u2019s something I\u2019ll continue to grow at, to be a good defender in this league. The more film that I watch, more games that I play, it\u2019ll just build over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

With losing returning as the norm, the Nets have a decision to make with Michael Porter Jr.<\/a> ahead of the trade deadline. He certainly makes them more competitive, but it might be more beneficial to move him for assets that help more in the long term. An Eastern Conference assistant general manager told The Post\u2019s Brian Lewis that the Nets are comfortable keeping Porter for at least this entire season if their price is not met, though.<\/p>\n

\"NetsBrooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez talks to his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 minutes will also be a consideration. With him set to be a free agent after the year, it would make sense for the Nets to instead prioritize development of their rookies. Since returning from his hamstring injury, Thomas came off the bench in all seven games he played.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Nets had a month of joy. But the last two weeks have put the season back in focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reality has returned for the Nets. They\u2019ve come crashing back down to earth.\u00a0 Monday\u2019s 113-105 loss to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,248,6,671,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-535247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-nets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-brooklynnets","12":"tag-jordi-fernandez","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nets","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115891361078136385","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}