In the absence of Mike Brown, Jordi Fernandez celebrated his 40 years as “head coach”

Without doing it on purpose, Mike Brown offered a nice birthday present to Jordi Fernandez on Tuesday evening. Placed in health protocol, the main coach entrusted the keys to the team to his first assistant… on his 40th birthday.

It is in fact the second time this season that Jordi Fernandez endorses this costume, a few weeks after an expulsion of Mike Brown, in Toronto. This time, he took control of the team from start to finish, and even if there was no victory in the end, the experience allowed him to gain exposure and impose his paw , Jordi Fernandez usually being in charge of defensive coordination for the Kings.

A “small ball” option not far from walking

In the absence of Domantas Sabonis, his mission was not going to be obvious, but he innovated by opting for “small ball” with Trey Lyles and Harrison Barnes in sequences inside to try to contain Nikola Jokic. Rather surprising at first glance, but the circumstances of Tuesday’s match forced him to make choices.

“It wasn’t something we had worked on in training, but every NBA team has this possibility of being able to go to the ‘small ball’ to try to take the best depending on what presents itself. Most of the time, we doubled on Jokic in defense. It was a five that we hadn’t used much, but I found it to have been quite effective for us”underlined Kevin Huerter

Even if he had to savor this accomplishment, he who very early took a passion for coaching, Jordi Fernandez did not evade his responsibilities after the defeat of the Kings.

“I take personal responsibility for this setback. This team that we played against, they’ve been together and involved in close games a lot of times. We had to answer, but we weren’t very “clean”. So I have to be better and find a way to help the guys more., did he declare.

Congratulations from Mike Malone

The locals held the game until 11-2 fueled by Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. who tipped the balance in favor of the Nuggets. From his bench, Mike Malone was visibly impressed by the performance of his one-night counterpart. It must be said that he particularly knows the qualities of Jordi Fernandez for having had him as an assistant for the past six seasons in Denver.

“I believe that one day Jordi will be the main coach in this league”assured the Denver coach. “He was a head coach in the G-League (at Canton Charge, from 2014 to 2016). He has great international experience. It’s a team that is on the right path, with the right coaches, so I’m really happy for them”.

Like Jordi Fernandez, Mike Malone had his first experience as head coach in Sacramento during the 2013/14 season before being fired at the start of the 2014/15 season. And he is convinced that Jordi Fernandez took advantage of this opportunity to score points.

“Sometimes that’s all it takes, the opportunity to be seen and seen as if you were a head coach candidate, and it’s amazing how quickly that can change”he added.

Even with the return of its Lithuanian pivot last night, Sacramento still suffered last night in its “back-to-back” against Denver. But a one-sided fourth quarter allowed him to win this time, after a final free throw from Malik Monk and a final miss by a hair’s breadth from Nikola Jokic (127-126).

To celebrate, the Californian franchise posted the video of Jordi Fernandez’s post-match speech. We see him congratulate several players and deliver the title of defender of the game to Davion Mitchell, for what will go down as his first victory as a head coach in the NBA.