The Jordi Fernandez era in Brooklyn began on Tuesday with a 115-106 preseason loss to the Clippers in San Diego. Here are five key observations from the Nets first exhibition game of 2024-25.
SIMMONS RETURNS
Ben Simmons played in his first NBA game since Feb. 26 on Tuesday night. He was limited to just 15 games last season because of a pinched nerve in his lower back. And in his 2024-25 preseason debut, the 6-10 guard finished with two points on 1-of-5 shooting, two rebounds, three assists and one steal in 13 minutes.
Simmons started at center in place of an injured Nic Claxton and all of his minutes came in the first half. The Nets were minus-7 with him on the court and fell behind by double digits just minutes into the first quarter.
Trainer Chris Brickley promised that Simmons would be in All-Star form when we next saw him on the court. To be honest, he looked like a role player at best for Brooklyn on Tuesday, while James Harden of the Clippers looked the part of an All-Star, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 16 minutes. However, preseason games should be taken with a grain of salt. Simmons is coming off another major surgery, so rust was expected.
However, there was still plenty of good. While Simmons started at center, he was still used as a primary playmaker in Fernandez’s offense. The Nets ran five-out sets while he was on the court, which allowed him to play like a guard in transition, push the pace and screen-and-roll in the halfcourt.
Simmons had some flashy passes, most notably the dish to Dorian Finney-Smith early in the first quarter which led to a highlight-worthy dunk. His lone bucket came off a screen-and-roll to the rim, Finney-Smith delivered the pass. It was nothing spectacular, but at least he was out there. And he finished the game healthy, so that is always a win for the Nets.
YEAR 4 THOMAS
Fernandez wanted to see better offensive efficiency from Cam Thomas entering Year 4. Well, the 22-year-old guard not only picked up where he left off last season from a scoring standpoint, finishing with 12 points in 17 minutes, but he did it on a 3-of-5 clip while playing primarily off the ball — just like his first-year head coach envisioned.
Thomas is a bucket. That has never been questioned. But he played with good pace on Tuesday, went 4-of-4 from the free throw line, 2-of-4 from deep and even tallied a pair of assists. What we saw was a small sample size, but the production in limited action was promising.
Many believe that Thomas can be one of the NBA’s top scorers this season and he’s off to a strong start. But he must be consistent and continue to take developmental strides in other areas of his game. This is a contract year for Thomas. The Nets’ front office — and other teams around the league — will certainly be keeping tabs on his improvement.
WILLIAMS SHINES
Ziaire Williams, who was acquired by the Nets via Memphis in July, was an absolute spark plug for the Nets off the bench in the second quarter. He moved well without the ball and cashed in on easy layups. He was active on the glass and his athleticism allowed him to snatch rebounds and capitalize on put-backs. His intensity on defense changed the game for Brooklyn.
Williams, 23, finished with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block. He was plus-10 against the Clippers in 23 minutes. Sometimes a change in scenery is all a player needs. This is just one preseason game, but Williams, a former lottery pick, looked fantastic running with the second unit in his Brooklyn debut. And as Fernandez begins the process of finalizing his rotations ahead of the regular season, Williams made a strong case in San Diego for why he should consistently play extended minutes on the wing.
General manager Sean Marks is searching for young foundational pieces. Williams appears to be a project worth investing in.
VETERAN CONTRIBUTIONS
Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder, two Nets veterans that were frequently mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason, were impressive at both ends of the court against the Clippers.
Finney-Smith attacked the rim aggressively (5-of-6 from the free throw line), dove on the court for loose balls and brought a certain level of toughness to Brooklyn’s undermanned frontcourt. Schröder dished out a game-high five assists in just 16 minutes, harassed opposing ball handlers with his on-ball defense and pushed the tempo whenever he could.
Those veterans took care of business. However, it was a rough shooting night for Cam Johnson. The forward went 2-of-7 from the field (1-of-3 from deep), and while he did record three rebounds, one assist and one block, he never truly made his presence felt.
ROTATIONS
Fernandez played 15 healthy bodies against the Clippers. Claxton (hamstring), Trendon Watford (hamstring), Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring) and Killian Hayes (hip) were all ruled out ahead of the game. Schröder, Thomas, Finney-Smith and Simmons started the night. Williams, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney started the second half.
Wilson and Clowney were the first Nets off the bench. Dariq Whitehead (standard deal), Yongxi Cui (two-way), Jaylen Martin (two-way), Tyrese Martin (Exhibit 10) and Amari Bailey (Exhibit 10) played all of their minutes in the second half. Wilson (21:40) led all Brooklyn players in minutes. Cui (8:33) saw the least amount of action.