Brooklyn’s plan was development and defense. Six games in, neither is working

It’s hard to tell what’s more concerning for the Nets: the decisions made last summer or the results they’ve produced on the floor.

Projected to win just 20.5 games in 2025-26, few expected Brooklyn to be in the playoff conversation, and after falling to 0-6 following Sunday’s 129-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s a chance the team may struggle just to meet that estimation.

Record aside, the Nets were expected to at least compete, with defensive-minded head coach Jordi Fernández at the helm, two proven scorers in Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. and five intriguing rookies in the mix. But through six games, the number of truly competitive quarters they’ve played could be counted on one hand.

Fernández started five veterans against Philadelphia, yet the Nets still surrendered 40 first-quarter points in what became a 24-point loss. Player development was supposed to be the organization’s top priority, but rookies Ben Saraf and Nolan Traoré didn’t see the floor, Egor Demin played only 15 minutes, and Drake Powell lasted just four before leaving with an ankle injury.

No matter who’s on the floor, the energy and edge that defined Brooklyn last season are still missing. At this point, it’s hard to tell where the problems even start.

“It’s everything,” Fernández said. “From the lack of attention to the body language, that all goes with energy… I’m asking them to play really hard and to play with purpose, and we’re not doing it… This is group is different than all the groups that I’ve worked with, and we want to create winning habits. And right now, we don’t have them. We’re very far from that.”

Fernández’s frustration was clear, but his players echoed the sentiment, saying the responsibility ultimately falls on them. Last season, Brooklyn’s defense ranked 23rd in the league with a 115.4 rating. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. Six games into Year 2 under the same staff, that number has fallen to 128.6, the worst mark in the NBA by a mile.

“I mean, at the end of the day, he’s not the one that’s going out there and having to play defense,” Nic Claxton said. “It’s on us. We got to just lock in on the schemes, lock in, look ourselves in the mirror. I mean, obviously, he’s going take it tough. It’s tough for him, too. He’s a competitor. He wants to win, and nobody wants to start out 0-6. But I feel like it’s on us, too, at the end of the day. All the players.”

The accountability theme ran throughout the locker room. Terance Mann agreed that effort and execution, not schemes, are what will determine whether things turn around in Brooklyn this season.

“We’re going to have to or we’re going to keep losing,” Mann said. “So, that’s what coach wants, if we don’t figure out how and have the willingness to do it, then it’s just going to be the same results to be honest. That’s just what it is.”