Nets' Jordi Fernandez praises team's defense in loss at Lakers
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets came back home from their west coast road trip with a 10-game losing streak as they couldn't find a way to get over the hump on the road. Brooklyn had some winnable games against tough opponents like the Los Angeles Lakers, but while the losses continued to pile up, head coach Jordi Fernandez acknowledged how well his players defended.
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"I was very happy with the level of competitiveness and physicality, except for the fouling, right? 42 free-throws, [it's a] combination of us being young, being better with technique, and then, things that we cannot control," Fernandez said prior to Sunday's game against the Sacramento Kings. The Nets played well against Luka Doncic and company through the first three quarters, but Los Angeles was able to generate plenty of free-throws in the fourth quarter.
"I think for the season, we allow 24 [free-throw attempts] and we shoot ourselves 22 or 23, so it’s like a 1.7 disparity. In the last four close games, it’s been like a two-to-one ratio per se, and obviously, in the last game it was even a bigger disparity," Fernandez continued. "We have to own what we can own and control what we can control, and that is to have better technique, defend without fouling, show our hands, lead with our chest."
The Nets did not necessarily limit the Lakers' offense in their 116-99 loss at the Lakers on Friday as they allowed Los Angeles to shoot 54.0% from the field and 44.0% from three-point land. However, the Lakers were able to generate 42 free-throw attempts, with guard Austin Reaves getting 11 free-throw attempts of his own despite taking just 13 field-goal attempts.
The Nets have been one of the worst teams in the league this season in terms of most standard and advanced defensive metrics, but Brooklyn is capable of playing suffocating as evidenced by how they played in December. With Brooklyn's season coming to a close in about two weeks, the focus will be the development of the younger players and if the team can regain its defensive identity before parting ways for the summer.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Jordi Fernandez praises team's defense in loss at Lakers