Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez is heading into his third season leading an NBA coaching staff and given the competitor he is, he's hoping for a significant jump this year. Brooklyn is likely hoping for the same thing after acquiring former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, but Fernandez knows that one area has to be fixed if the team is going to win games more consistently.
"[The problem was] just defense. I mean, it was a very poor defensive game," Fernandez said following Wednesday's 144-128 loss at the Miami Heat in Brooklyn's preseason finale, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The Nets not only gave up 144 points to a Heat team that did not have center Bam Adebayo at its disposal, but Brooklyn also allowed Miami to shoot 59% from the field and pile up 32 assists.
"[It’s the] second time that we’ve given up in one half 70 points, 69 in the first half, 75 in the second. That’s unacceptable. And if we want to be a competitive team, we have to play better defense than that," Fernandez continued. The Nets' offense will likely improve with Randle now in the fold, especially considering that Brooklyn put up at least 114 points in each of their four preseason games.
However, defense will likely be the side of the floor that the Nets will have to improve upon if their last two games of the preseason are any indication of where the team is at the moment. Brooklyn gave up 122 points to a Washington Wizards team that did not play forward Anthony Davis prior to the loss to the Heat and it's likely that Fernandez and the coaching staff is watching that development and will try to make changes.
Last season, the Nets struggled on both sides of the court as they were 30th in offensive rating (108.7) and 26th in defensive rating (119.0), but Randle should help the offensive portion of that equation. Aside from the fact that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple-double in just 24 minutes, Brooklyn still allowed eight other players to score in double figures so the defense is a work-in-progress at this time.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Jordi Fernandez criticizes defensive woes in preseason finale