Overview
- Brooklyn owns the NBA's worst defensive rating at 128.6 and ranks near the bottom offensively, averaging 112.3 points per game.
- The latest setback was a 129-105 loss to a short-handed 76ers team that poured in 73 first-half points, with Kelly Oubre scoring 22 in the opening quarter.
- Head coach Jordi Fernandez said he is "failing" to get the team to play hard and cited energy, attention, and body language as central problems.
- In response, Fernandez benched rookie Ben Saraf for Tyrese Martin and reduced fellow rookie Egor Demin to 15 minutes, while other first-year players saw little or no action.
- Players including Nic Claxton and Terance Mann accepted responsibility, stressing that effort and defensive commitment must change to halt the slide.