Because the Nets got here into Monday’s preseason dwelling opener, their veterans have claimed, to a person, that is the hardest coaching camp they’ve been by means of.
New coach Jordi Fernandez doesn’t thoughts taking the blame for that.
However he admitted it’s principally the gamers clawing tooth and nail, combating for jobs and roles that fostered that setting, not him.
“You might suppose coaches resolve that, however the actuality is that gamers play, gamers apply. Those which might be making it aggressive, onerous, bodily and difficult are the gamers,” Fernandez mentioned earlier than Monday’s 131-92 preseason win over the Wizards. “Clearly, my calls for are to work extraordinarily onerous, to be an excellent teammate, to construct relationships, to compete, to get 1 p.c higher, so on and so forth. Everybody establishes a tradition, our offensive ideas, defensive ideas.
“However the guys are shopping for into it, they usually’re combating for his or her alternatives, their spots, their roles. And that’s an excellent factor to see. We noticed it in Recreation 1. All the pieces that we’re doing day-to-day, then it interprets on the court docket: That togetherness, that competitiveness, being selfless. And on the finish of the day, I like that they blamed me for camp being so onerous, however I’m going in charge them for working onerous and being engaged and dedicated to the method.”
The Nets hosted a Washington workforce additionally within the early phases of a rebuild.
And after some fairly aggressive practices and scrimmages, they had been itching to face someone in a unique jersey.
“We’ve had quite a lot of nice, wholesome competitors, so we’re positively wanting ahead to placing on the identical jersey and beating up on someone else,” mentioned Ziaire Williams.
“It’s positively been a grind, however we’ve positively been getting after it, and I feel it’s going to repay, particularly the way in which coach desires to play…I’ve by no means had a coaching camp like this, going as onerous as we’re going. It’s been a problem, nevertheless it’s been enjoyable,” Shake Milton mentioned. “We’ve been working actually onerous. The entire month of September was only a grind for us, and everyone’s excited to beat up on someone else.”
Elevating their competitiveness stage is one thing that each former coach Jacque Vaughn and Kevin Ollie, the interim coach who adopted him, didn’t do final season.
It’s one thing Fernandez has harped upon.
To that finish, he’s put the Nets by means of their paces with a ton of conditioning.
“Not that it’s completely different, simply much more [conditioning]. These days, you go up and down two or thrice, they usually say your load is simply too excessive, proper? It’s not an excessive amount of of that over right here,” Williams mentioned. “So we’ve been getting after it, competing at a excessive stage. It’s been good, although, man.
“We’ve positively been doing much more than I’ve in my profession, for certain. It’s a brand new workers, quite a lot of new guys. We’re simply going to see what everyone seems to be able to doing. Like Jordi mentioned, nothing’s going to be handed out. Nothing’s going to be given. He doesn’t care who you might be, what you’ve completed: he desires you to go away it on the ground whereas he’s right here proper now. In order that’s what we’re making an attempt to do.”
Fernandez hasn’t simply put his Nets by means of tons of conditioning. He’s additionally demanded excessive depth of their scrimmages.
“I’d say the depth of it,” Milton mentioned. “Sometimes, you get into September, and guys are enjoying pickup, they go to [Los Angeles] or Miami, or these runs or no matter, and it’s simply buddy-buddy. You’re working in your recreation, nevertheless it’s not likely that intensive, what an NBA recreation has been like. A lot of the guys have proven up in September, and we actually needed to dedicate ourselves to place in that work. So it’s been recreation velocity this complete time. It’s been excessive depth, and you’ll inform from everyone, simply the expansion they’ve had on the defensive finish. So it’s been good.”
