The Brooklyn Nets’ first back-to-back of the 2026-27 season laid out their early-season problems in two very different ways. One night, they dug out of a 22-point hole against the Cleveland Cavaliers and still came up short, 125-121.
The next, they were outclassed by the Indiana Pacers in a 136-109 loss at Barclays Center. Same 0-3 record, completely different feel - and plenty for Jordi Fernández to sort through.
After both games, the Nets’ coach and a few of the team’s young players got straight to the point: the defense has been leaky, the turnovers have piled up, and the consistency just isn’t there yet. Brooklyn has shown enough flashes to suggest there’s something to build on, but the gaps are obvious through three games.
Fernández liked the response his team showed in Cleveland after they fell behind big early. Brooklyn kept battling, cut the deficit to two late, and gave itself a shot. That fight stood out to him.
"I'm proud of how the guys, you know, a lot of times you're down 20, whatever, and then you just stop fighting," Fernández said.
But he was just as clear that the effort arrived too late. The Nets spent most of that game chasing the Cavaliers before finally finding some offensive rhythm. Fernández didn’t mince words about the opening stretch.
"The performance that we put up after the first quarter was just unacceptable," Fernández said. "112 points in three quarters, just don't, you're not winning basketball games."
He pointed to a broader issue that keeps showing up across the lineup: the group isn’t connected well enough yet. That covers everything from spacing and offensive execution to pick-and-roll communication and the defensive end. Fernández also took ownership, saying the work in practice hasn’t consistently carried over once the games start.
Against Indiana, the defensive issues were impossible to ignore. The Pacers kept pushing the tempo, and Brooklyn couldn’t slow the game down.
Nolan Traoré, who scored 17 points and handed out five assists, said transition defense was a major reason the Nets couldn’t get control of the game.
"I think it starts with transition," Traoré said. "They had a lot of points off turnovers or, like, even on made baskets, they were always running, and we couldn't get back."
Traoré said the problems weren’t only about getting matched up in the open floor. Brooklyn also has to defend better one-on-one and tighten up the details in Fernández’s system.
He added that the team needs its defensive pressure to last for the full game, not just for a burst early on. The Nets forced steals at the start against Indiana, but that edge faded as the Pacers settled in.
Egor Dëmin focused on the other side of the issue after the loss to Cleveland: getting more aggressive sooner. He felt Brooklyn played freer once it stopped letting the Cavaliers control the pace, but he didn’t want that version of the team to show up only when the game was already slipping away.
"We got to jump into the game with the same mentality as we've kind of finished it," Dëmin said.
That’s been the story of Brooklyn’s opening three games. The Nets have had moments that hint at what they can become, especially in the comeback attempt against Cleveland. But those stretches haven’t lasted long enough, and the corrections have to come earlier.
Fernández still believes in the group and points to the work his players put in every day. Even so, after Sunday’s loss, he made it plain that effort and execution have to be there from the opening tip.
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