Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez will have to do whatever he can to win as many games as possible during his third season as the leader of the team from the bench. Brooklyn signaled this offseason that it was ready to win more games by trading for former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, but Fernandez also has to consider two of the younger players on the team.
"It's good. We have to grow together, keep Mikel healthy, and just get into those groups. It's not always going to be the same and perfect, but that's part of the game," Fernandez said to the media after Saturday's 125-121 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition to the fact that the Nets showed resilience by being able to come back from a 22-point deficit in the fourth
quarter, the period also marked the first time that Egor Demin and rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr. played together this season.
"The way I would explain this is when you're coaching a game, if you're coaching thinking you want to play certain guys together, it's usually you're doing it for the wrong reasons," Fernandez said when asked how he thinks about the prospect of Demin and Brown playing together. "Would I like to play them together? Yes. But, if I'm just thinking about playing them together, I may not do what's best for the group at the moment."
After Saturday's loss to the Cavaliers, the duo of Demin and Brown have shared the floor for four minutes through the first two games of the season, all in the fourth quarter with Brooklyn dealing with foul trouble. From 8:18 left to play in the fourth quarter to 4:42 left to play when Brown subbed out of the game, the Nets outscored the Cavaliers 11-5, with Demin scoring nine of Brooklyn's 11 points.
While it was exciting for Nets fans to see Demin and Brown together for the three minutes in the fourth period, it's likely far too short of a sample size to gather any real takeaways. As Fernandez said in his postgame press conference, he is trying to see which combinations of players, including Demin and Brown, work best together, but he also needs to make sure that the team has the best chance to win those minutes at the same time.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Jordi Fernandez explains playing Egor Demin with Mikel Brown Jr.
