Head coach Jordi Fernández missed Sunday’s matchup towards the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Heart due to sickness, leaving the Nets with out their lead voice on the sideline. Assistant coach Steve Hetzel stepped in, a well-known position for him after serving as Brooklyn’s Summer season League head coach in each 2024 and 2025.
Hetzel joined the Nets’ workers when Fernández arrived and helped set up the system final summer time whereas Fernández was with Crew Canada for the Olympics, guiding Brooklyn to a 3-2 file earlier than returning this yr to steer the franchise’s 5 first-round picks.
That familiarity made stepping in on Sunday really feel far much less daunting.
“I hope to have fun with it,” Hetzel stated. “Working for Jordi has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had. The way he allows us as a staff to put our imprint on the team and have a voice. So, I feel comfortable speaking to the team directly with the amount that he gives us… I feel very comfortable with his system and stepping in.”
It doubtless wasn’t how Hetzel imagined getting his first likelihood to run an NBA workforce, however the reps are simply as precious for him as they’re for the gamers and he embraced the uncommon alternative. He stated Fernández examined constructive for the flu, although he had no fever and was doing nicely in any other case.
“He calls himself a specimen,” Hetzel stated of Fernández.
Talking to reporters forward of the sport, Hetzel stated his focus was on carrying over Fernández’s core rules of competing laborious, enjoying unselfishly and staying linked. With the Nets 2-2 of their present five-game stretch, he famous that they had an opportunity to complete it with a successful file and that closing it out at 3-2 was the objective.
The Nets usually make assistants inaccessible to the media, so Hetzel was additionally capable of share his first ideas on the rookies since summer time league.
“I think with each one of them, we’ve been very, very pleased with the progress and come like different moments,” Hetzel stated. “Going from Ben Saraf at the beginning of the year started at point guard, went to the G League, came back after turning his ankle, got put in the rotation, and played well. Then with Egor [Demin] he started the year on minutes restriction and then worked his way into the starting lineup after plantar fasciitis started to heal up more and more. And he just had this steadiness about him, and he’s continuing to get better and better, especially on the defensive end. He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s improved and taken big steps in that area.”
From there, Hetzel continued to maneuver down the record, highlighting how every rookie has taken a unique path.
“Nolan [Traore] spent a lot of time with Long Island, and if you watched his progress down there and the numbers he’s putting up with Long Island and then being inserted into the lineup last game vs. Dallas, you saw a different player than when he played against Houston,” he stated. “And then Danny [Wolf] is beginning to come into his own, his playmaking, his shot making is someone that we can play through on that second unit. So, they’ve all had their different moments. Drake [Powell] defensively has been tremendous, someone that can be a primary defender. They’ve all had their ups and downs, as rookie will.”
For an evening that got here collectively unexpectedly, Hetzel handled the expertise the identical manner he teaches the rookies to deal with theirs: lean on what you’ve realized, belief the work and honor the individuals who helped put you right here.
“I’ll just try to be an extension of Jordi and try to not step outside of the box,” Hetzel stated. “We’ve been playing better and better. We’re very happy with how we’ve been playing basketball. The group is much more connected. We’ve been much more competitive, and we want to continue that style.”
