Trendon Watford made his season debut after being sidelined since training camp with a hamstring injury.
“It just felt good to be back out there with the guys, just have a safe, healthy game,” said Watford, with a Cheshire Cat grin. “So, first and foremost, that just felt good, so I’m glad to be out there.”
Watford had four points, three assists and three boards in 13:26 on Sunday’s 114-104 loss to the Knicks. He admitted to being a little winded in his first live action since last season.
“I was a little tired, I’m not going to lie, but it felt good though,” Watford said. “I just knew when I was coming in and how long I was going to play. Three-minute stints, four-minute stints, so it was easy just to play hard, try not to think as much and just play.”
The 24-year-old Watford has a unique point-forward game.
With Ben Simmons forced into starting at center due to Nic Claxton’s absence, Watford helped with the ball movement.
The Nets dished out 31 assists on 32 baskets Sunday.
That 96.9 percent assist percentage is the highest in a game in franchise history, and the highest for any team since the Chicago Bulls vs. Portland (97.4 percent) in Jan. 2001.
Cam Johnson had 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting, 4-for-7 from deep.
He already has five 20-point outings in just 14 games this season, after having only six all of last season.
Cam Thomas has been one of the top scorers in the league this season, but has been charged with improving his passing, defense and efficiency.
Asked if Thomas is the most natural scorer he’d seen, Fernandez replied: “I’ve been fortunate to be around great players. Everyone is unique, right? It’s just unfair to compare Kyrie [Irving] to Cam, or Jamal [Murray] to Cam, guys that I’ve been around — one of my favorites, Delonte West.
“But the reality is Cam is being himself, he’s trying to get better. My message to him from the beginning was, ‘your efficiency has got to go up,’ your playmaking has got to go up, your turnovers got to go down, and your rebounding and your defense have to improve. He’s doing all that.”
Ziaire Williams had seven points in 24:00 after having been questionable with right hip tightness. Bojan Bogdanovic (left foot injury recovery), Claxton (lower back strain), Day’Ron Sharpe (left hamstring strain) were all out, with Jaylen Martin and Dariq Whitehead both on G League assignment.