Nets' Jordi Fernandez explains thought process when deciding rotation

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Jan 20, 2026 - 06:00
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Nets' Jordi Fernandez explains thought process when deciding rotation

NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets have been having a rough January thus far as they have won just two of the 10 games they have played with the Phoenix Suns visiting the Nets on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Brooklyn has mostly had the same rotation for the first quarter of the season and head coach Jordi Fernandez gave a glimpse into his thought process with the rotation.

"As I answered yesterday after the game, that it was me trying to find a reaction from the group. I thought that group with Nic and the second group played pretty hard," Fernandez said prior to Monday's game against the Suns. To begin the second half of Sunday's 124-102 loss at the Chicago Bulls, Fernandez made the bold choice of benching every starter aside from center Nic Claxton as he was looking for something to spark a comeback.

"Within the same rotations, all those players still play. That was the message. It's not like you're not going to play, it's just we need to find a reaction here," Fernandez continued. "In the NBA, it has to be a complete effort for all 48 minutes. All the intentions that you need to do certain things, concentration has to be there again for 48 minutes. It was not a game that I was very happy with that."

Fernandez started Sunday's rematch at the Bulls with a lineup of Egor Demin, Terance Mann, Danny Wolf, Noah Clowney, and Claxton, but the beginning of the second half showed that he was not happy with the starting lineup. To start the second half, Fernandez put out a lineup of Nolan Traore, Cam Thomas, Tyrese Martin, Jalen Wilson, and Claxton, with the backup group having been slightly better than the starters.

Time will tell if Fernandez will change the rotation in a major way as he looks to turn the team's performance around before January ends, especially since the team is still dealing with some injuries. With Monday's matchup against Phoenix being the second night of a back-to-back, forcing Demin and Thomas to miss the game as the team monitors their injuries, Wednesday's game at the New York Knicks could be the first display of where Fernandez wants to go with the rotation.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Jordi Fernandez explains thought process when deciding rotation

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