The Nets opened their NBA Cup schedule against the Knicks on Friday. The floor inside Madison Square Garden looked less like a basketball court and more like a spilt orange smoothie. “It felt sunny out there,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Actually, one of our players had his shirt off.” The Nets and Knicks will compete in East Group A with the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets. While Fernadez did not sound like he was a fan of the Knicks’ NBA Cup court design, he was surely excited to compete in the interborough rivalry for the first time as Nets head coach. “Yeah, it’s a lot of physicality,” Fernandez said. “We know how they play. We want to do what we do, which is pressure the ball and then be able to have pace in the full court, in the half court, but that’s going to be about our energy. And I think we were a little down last two games. Is it because of the schedule and the travel? I don’t know. Again, there’s no excuses. I want our energy to be 200% to be ready to fight, to do it every possession, four quarters. And I think our guys got the message.” Brooklyn will face the Knicks again on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, but it will be a regular matchup. Their next set of NBA Cup games will be on Tuesday against Charlotte at Barclays Center and Friday against Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center. It did not advance to the knockout rounds despite a 3-1 record in East Group C. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers,123-109, on Dec. 9 to win the inaugural In-Season Tournament and LeBron James was named MVP. This season’s semifinals and championship will be held in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and 17. “Excited to compete and when you can do it just for something else different, it’s a special tournament,” Fernandez said. “I grew up in Spain. We have the Kings Cup. It was an in-season tournament, so I’m very familiar with it. And it’s just another reason to go out there and fight. You should be excited, especially when you play against a special rival and it’s here, so I think it’s cool. It’s not just the court. It’s a little bit more than that.” BRIDGES FACES HIS FORMER TEAM Of course, Friday’s matchup at Madison Square Garden marked the first time the Nets have faced their former star forward, Mikal Bridges, since last summer’s blockbuster deal. Before the Bridges trade, the Nets and Knicks had not struck a deal since 1983. Brooklyn landed five first-round picks and a pick swap in the deal, among other assets. “When I was hired, he was on the team, yeah,” Fernandez said of Bridges. “And I had great conversations with him, I had workouts where I saw him work out, and I started to build a relationship with him. And, as you guys know, the NBA has certain surprises and things change.” Bridges, 28, was shooting just 30.4% from deep through his first 11 games across the bridge. “The trade? It’s part of our direction and how we want to do things, and the plan that we have of building success and sustaining success,” Fernandez continued. “He’s an amazing player, and what I told him was, ‘there’s nothing else better than the NBA than being wanted,’ and he was wanted at that time, and it’s part of the business.” UPDATED ALL-STAR FORMAT The NBA is in serious discussions on a new, four-team tournament format for the 2025 All-Star Game, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. If green lit, it would consist of three teams of eight All-Stars each and the winner of the Rising Stars game. Charania said officials discussed the concepts in a Competition Committee meeting on Friday.