Brooklyn Nets: What We Have Learned From Jordi Fernández’s Rotations So Far

Jordi Fernández made history on Sunday as he became the first Spanish head coach to win an NBA game when his Brooklyn Nets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 115-102.

It was quite the moment for Fernández — in front of his entire family, no less — who has already made a positive first impression on Nets fans. Of course, making any conclusions after three games of the NBA regular season is not wise. Starting to spot trends, strengths and improvement points, however, is.

In the Nets’ three contests so far (1-2), Fernández’s ideas as head coach have been clear. Everything he talked about in preseason and in front of the cameras and microphones, until now, has largely come to fruition. Brooklyn defends with intensity and physicality, and their offensive process is relatively clean with movement and good looks.

Fernández is stamping his identity on the Nets and he’s assertive about it. He isn’t afraid to demand better shots from Cam Thomas or, from Ben Simmons, just more shots. Three games in, he’s also seemingly not hesitant about being adaptable with his in-game decisions and substitutions.

#Nets rotations chart for game 1

Minutes in the late third with Clowney+Claxton, then Simmons/Wilson/Ziaire/Clowney (later DFS)/Claxton for a huge look were interesting to me. Jordi Fernández did well, I thought. pic.twitter.com/yz5ictcpFE
— Wilko (@wilkomcv) October 24, 2024

Part of this has seemingly been because of Nic Claxton’s ramp-up from his preseason hamstring injury, but the Nets have started the same lineup in every game so far: Simmons, Dennis Schröder, Thomas, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith. It remains to be seen whether that changes, but the candidate to exit Fernández’s first five because of on-court production might be Simmons.

After that, the 41-year-old head coach has typically resorted to Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney as the first names off the bench. In Clowney's case, he's been the back-up big in every game and performed decently, but with Day’Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford injured. Wilson saw his minutes wane in the Nets’ second game, which Fernández explained was for defensive purposes, but he was once again early in the Spaniard’s thoughts versus the Bucks.

Game 3 #Nets substitutions chart

More Jalen Wilson again, some Keon Johnson second quarter minutes sprinkled in. A fair bit of Clowney+Claxton. https://t.co/8hjKgRLmSl pic.twitter.com/4KSem032Ol
— Wilko (@wilkomcv) October 28, 2024

Interestingly, Shake Milton saw backup ballhandler minutes in Brooklyn’s preseason and first two regular season games; however, he was out of the rotation against Milwaukee. Instead, Keon Johnson saw some sparse first half minutes and, until garbage time, it was Schröder or Simmons at the point guard spot.

Looking at the Nets’ next slate of games, beginning Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets, it will be interesting to monitor whether Fernández conforms to an even more regular rotation pattern or if he continues to be as proactive. The next two games, for instance, will be a telling test for Brooklyn's frontcourt — first against Nikola Jokić and then on Wednesday against some uber-centers in Memphis' Zach Edey and Jay Huff.

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