Jordi Fernández wasn’t trying to outmaneuver anyone with some clever halftime adjustment. This wasn’t about matchups or analytics or finding the magic five-man unit. The Nets head coach made a bold move in Sunday’s 124-102 loss to the Bulls because he was searching for something far more fundamental: a spark.
“I was trying to find a reaction from the group,” Fernández said after the game. “That was the message.”
And that message was loud and clear. Brooklyn’s first half in Chicago had lacked urgency, and Fernández wasn’t about to let that slide.
So, he shook things up. Not to punish, but to provoke - to wake up a team that, at 12-28 heading into Monday’s matchup with the Suns, has been fighting for consistency all season long.
Between injuries, rotating lineups, and stretches of uneven play, the Nets have struggled to find their footing. This wasn’t just a coach pulling levers.
It was a coach demanding accountability.
Fernández has been preaching the same message since training camp: the rotation is fluid, and minutes are earned - not given. If the energy’s not there, he’ll go looking for it, even if that means flipping the lineup midgame.
“I’m rewarding the group that I felt played well,” he said. “Then after watching the film, I felt pretty much the same way.
It didn’t work out overall for the game. We didn’t play hard enough, and we got outplayed.
We tried at times. But in the NBA, it has to be a complete effort for all 48 minutes.”
That’s the standard Fernández is setting - not perfection, but presence. He’s not benching guys for missing shots or making mistakes.
He’s benching them if the intensity isn’t there. Because in this league, especially on the defensive end, effort is non-negotiable.
Communication, physicality, focus - those are the things that win possessions. And when those things slip, games unravel quickly.
Sunday’s lineup change was a clear message: the door is always open for players who bring effort, even if it doesn’t show up in the box score. That’s why Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton stayed in the mix.
That’s why Nolan Traore got another look. That’s why Tyrese Martin and Jalen Wilson were asked to bring a different energy.
Fernández wasn’t looking for a perfect combination. He was looking for a heartbeat.
And while the second-half shakeup didn’t flip the outcome in Chicago, it did make one thing clear: this is where the Nets are right now. A team still searching, still growing, still figuring out what kind of effort it takes to compete every night in the NBA.
Fernández isn’t asking for flawless basketball. He’s asking for a baseline.
A consistent level of intensity that travels, that doesn’t depend on the scoreboard or the opponent or the arena. Sunday was a reminder of how quickly things can fall apart when that baseline isn’t met.
Monday, back home at Barclays, was the next chance to prove they got the message.
“Concentration has to be there again for 48 minutes,” Fernández said. “It was not a game that I was very happy with.”
And that’s the challenge now. Not just to respond, but to sustain. Because in Brooklyn, the minutes are up for grabs - and so is the identity of this team.