Jordi Fernandez calls out Nets starters following humilating Heat defeat

A ninth straight loss would warrant any coach having a strong word with his or her team.Yet, after what was an abysmal Nets performance that made for their longest losing streak this season, as well as the worst skid in the NBA, Jordi Fernández had more than a warning for his team.He issued a challenge.After watching his best player in Michael Porter Jr.

score just nine points, Fernández yanked him off the court with 9:33 remaining in the third.Porter didn’t return until 9:43 in the final quarter in the eventual 124-98 loss to the Heat on Tuesday night.“I want Mike and the first group to play as hard as they can,” Fernández said.

“I want to challenge them to do it, because I’ve seen them doing it, especially on the defensive end.If that happens, I can live with whatever happens.

If that is there, then you’re being selfless, you’re playing for the team, and just good things happen.I’m trying to just challenge every guy in different ways.”The Nets have their first chance to answer the call against the Heat again Thursday night.For Fernández, it hopefully cannot be that much worse of a performance — one that Nic Claxton called “an all-around stinker.”Miami’s physicality on defense held the Nets to only 38.4 percent shooting from the field (33-for-86) and a brutal 18.8 percent (6-for-32) from deep, which is their third-worst mark from beyond the arc in a single game this season.

They also committed 18 costly turnovers.It was easily Porter’s worst game of the season, shooting 3-for-17 and 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.It was once thought that his first-half tear would have earned the 27-year-old his first All-Star nod as he averaged 25.6 points per game in the first 38 games of the season.Yet, his production has fallen off since the break, averaging just 19.8 points per game.However, the stat sheet and Fernández’s challenge don’t just come down to the starters and veteran players.Twelve of those turnovers came from two rookies alon...