Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez liked a lot of what he saw in his team’s 123-88 win over Hapoel Jerusalem in their preseason opener, but there was one area of concern. Fernandez felt his team had to cut down on the fouls, and we asked him about the issue before the game against the Phoenix Suns at The Venetian Arena on Friday.
“Yeah, the fouls were a little bit of a concern because a lot of them can be solved with better technique,” Fernandez said. “Especially knowing when you’re in the penalty and when you’re not in the penalty. When you’re not, that allows you to guard and pick up and be on that super aggressive mode.
“But when you are in the penalty, then you have to be extremely good with your technique,” Fernandez continued. “Using your hands, using your chest. So those things, we gotta be better at, but the reality is I really like the effort and physicality, and right now we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”
We asked @BrooklynNets head coach Jordi Fernandez about his liking the physicality and effort of his players but being concerned by the fouling in their preseason opener.
“A lot of them can be solved with better technique.” pic.twitter.com/FEWZXyO9pF
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) October 10, 2025
The Nets committed 28 fouls in the opener, which led to 37 free throw attempts for Hapoel. It didn’t hurt them in that game, but this is not a recipe for success in the NBA. If you allow teams to shoot around 30 free throws a game, you’re going to lose more often than not.
The Nets didn’t fare all that better on this front in their 132-127 overtime loss to the Suns either. They committed 29 fouls, which led to 46 free throw attempts. The contest going to overtime didn’t impact the stats too much, as the Suns only shot three free throws in the extra period.
Fernandez likes the effort and wants the team to play with a level of physicality, but if the players don’t start executing better, the Nets are in for another difficult season. How quickly can their technique be improved? Well, we’ll find out.
Another area where the Nets struggled against the Suns was keeping hold of the ball. They committed 34 turnovers, and their opponents scored 42 points off them, a ridiculously high number. Fernandez acknowledged postgame that you’re not going to win much with those kinds of numbers.
As for positives from this game, the Nets’ offense was rolling for three quarters when they weren’t coughing up the ball. They made each of their first 10 shots to start the game, and the Suns had no answers for them. The Nets led by as many as 18 in the first half and had recorded 71 points at halftime. It was an offensive clinic, but they sputtered post the break.
The Nets only managed to score 13 points in the third quarter. They were 2-17 from the field and committed eight turnovers. Suns head coach Jordan Ott spoke about that defensive clinic his team put on, and he pointed to the turnovers as well.
These teams face off again at The Venetian Arena on Sunday at 7 AM ET, and it will be interesting to see to what extent these issues continue to persist for the Nets.
