Brooklyn Nets HC Jordi Fernández Explains Midrange Shot Diet He’d Like

The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, with head coach Jordi Fernández discussing the two-way impact of his team’s shot selection after the game.

“Defensively, those second chance and transition [points] was an issue, but then offensively we fell in love with the midrange shot,” he said. “We took 25 of them - when in that first half, we had 21 assists, we were good at the rim, we were good from three.”

Fernández added that he was “okay” with 12-14 midrange shots, but all the others should have been spray passes for threes. The Nets bench boss believed that there were good looks available for his squad against the Bulls’ zone, but that their opponent’s defensive scheme ended up bothering them.

“We kept dribbling and dribbling in the paint,” Fernández said. “I think that the shots were there and we got to be better. I gotta help them more.”

Cam Thomas led the Nets in scoring for the night with 24 points, albeit on 8-for-23 from the field. The Brooklyn guard also had a season-high 10 assists, with his previous best this year being seven. Tyrese Martin finished with 19 points on 7-for-13 from the field, including five made threes, while Cam Johnson was 7-for-12 for 16 points.

The 42-year-old coach also pointed to Chicago’s ability to run in transition, which often ended up happening off Brooklyn’s misses. The Nets scored five fast break points compared to the Bulls’ 19. Coby White was Chicago’s leading scorer with 31 points, while fellow starters Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones each contributed 18.

“We didn't shoot as well in the second half, but that's fine as long as we take the good shots or the right shots,” Fernández said.

The Bulls also got to the free throw line more than the Nets, especially in the second half. The Nets shot 18 free throws to the Bulls' 26 for the entire game, but that disparity becomes six to 18 when zoning in on just the latter two periods.

Fernández reflected on what he wants to see going forward: “Controlling the controllables, I think that’s the way you win games, and that's what happened a few games ago when we got the win[s] was our focus was in throughout the game, all the way through four quarters. Tonight, it wasn’t and so, we just gotta be better.”

Up next, the Nets host the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on Saturday evening. The Celtics are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 47-19 record.

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