The whole country once again suffered a rare cooling, and New York was no exception, but the cold weather could not stop the enthusiasm of the fans.

Although the Brooklyn Nets just lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 69-76 on the road in their last game, causing a small upset, there are still many fans who queue up at the entrance of the arena two hours early to wait for entry.

In addition to the tall and strong stars of the current Nets team, the most interesting ones are of course Kawwai Leonard, Kenneth Faried and Lance Stephenson, among which "funny" Lance Stephenson is also very popular because he often interacts with fans and is a Brooklyn native.

Ahead of today's Brooklyn Nets home game against the Washington Wizards, Lance Stephenson warmed up early on the court to find his touch.

Lance Stephenson's appearance caused a commotion among the fans, who affectionately shouted his nickname "Funny", and some waved posters made for him, and Stephenson enjoyed the superstar treatment and kept smiling.

In the pre-game warm-up, everyone practices what they do best or what they can use in the game, such as Kenneth Faried doing low shots, Kawhai Leonard practicing his one-step jumper inside three-point rangers, and Lance Stephenson practicing three-point shots against defenders.

Despite some "funny", Lance-Stephenson really didn't have a reputation for nothing, and after hitting a couple of pull-up threes in a row, Stephenson entered the locker room contentedly amid the cheers of the fans.

In the last game, the Brooklyn Nets suffered their toughest defense since the All-Star break. Lance Stephenson was 1-of-5 from the field and scored just four points.

In fact, it wasn't just Lance Stephenson, their star was tall and strong, and he only scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting.

However, Gao Dazhuang said that he did not pay too much attention to the defeat in the last game, and he told reporters before the game: "This is a step backwards on the way forward, but we will not be afraid, we will continue to move forward."

As one of the most competitive players in the league right now, Gao feels the Nets lost on shooting percentage, and he and his teammates are unprepared for tough defense from the outside.

And almost all Nets players think. The last loss was just an accident. As long as they find their touch, they can still crush their opponents with ease.

Not only the players, but most of the fans thought so, and they arrived at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn early. Just to witness the Nets' recovery. They think the Nets will be back at home with an easy win over the visiting Washington Wizards.

Currently, the Brooklyn Nets are 37-22. They are tied for second place in the East with the New York Knicks, while the Washington Wizards are second to last in the East with a 19-41 record.

By all accounts, the Washington Wizards can't pose a threat to the Brooklyn Nets. However, the end result surprised everyone.

……

The Nets got off to a smooth start today, and after the opening game, the tall and strong team scored the first eight points of the team with a single free throw.

With 1:08 left in the first half, Lance Stephenson hit a three-pointer to give them a double-digit advantage at 59:49.

However, in the second half, the Wizards began to fight back, first "champion" John Wall broke through to a layup, and the Wizards narrowed the gap to 8 points.

Then Trevor Ariza hit another three-pointer to give the Wizards just four points behind 86:90 after three quarters.

The two teams went frequently in the fourth quarter, although with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter, Gao Dazhuang scored 40 points in the game with a jumper, and the other Nets players also made achievements on offense.

However, they also failed to stop the Wizards' offense, and the Washington Wizards kept biting the score with the combined impact of John Wall, Trevor Ariza and Nene Hilario.

With 2:29 left in the fourth quarter, Nene Hilario beat Marsin Gortat to a basket, and the Wizards took a 119-118 lead.

But less than 10 seconds later, the Nets regained the lead with a mid-range shot that gave the Nets a 120-119 lead.

However, in the next 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the Brooklyn Nets made five shots from beyond the three-point line, but failed to hit a single shot.

The Wizards, on the other hand, were driven by Nene Hilario under the basket, and with six seconds left in the game, Nene Hilario scored a layup and caused a foul on defender Gortat.

However, Nene Hilarioga missed a free throw, and the Nets still had a chance, but in the final moments, Lance Stephenson received a tall and strong pass and missed an empty three-pointer, and the Nets fell short.

123：120

In the end, the "vice president" Washington Wizards defeated the Brooklyn Nets, who were second in the East, ending their own seven-game losing streak while also sending their opponent to two consecutive defeats.

This result caused an uproar among the fans, who did not believe that their team would encounter a "Waterloo" at home, although a little sad, but the fans were reluctant to leave the court for a long time, and many people sent encouraging applause to the young Nets players on the scene, which also made the tall and strong face a little ashamed.

If the Brooklyn Nets' last game away loss to the Memphis Grizzlies was due to the opponent's tough defense, the Nets shot only 33.8% from the field and only 5-of-26 from three-point range.

However, the Brooklyn Nets' home loss to the Washington Wizards in this game was a bit incomprehensible, with the Nets shooting 54.5% from the field, even exceeding the season average, and making 19 three-pointers, without any problems on the offensive end.

The 69 points in the last game also became 120 points in this game, but they still lost.

Because they allowed the weakened Washington Wizards to shoot 60.5 percent from the field, the biggest problem with the loss was on defense.

And the Nets made a staggering 46 three-point shots in this game, after the game. Coach Johnson also criticized the Nets' current obsession with three-point shooting in a press conference.

When the Nets can hit three-pointers and keep the margin wide, everything looks OK, but today the Nets didn't have that, they shot too many three-pointers and ignored other things.

That's not to say they didn't open up space, and they didn't completely neglect to move the ball to find openings, but when they shot toward the NBA record, they were in a "three-point fandom" in Coach Johnson's words.

In the game. Just when the Nets were still relentlessly pursuing the record. The Wizards tweaked their lineup, they fielded a small man lineup, and adjusted their defensive strategy, while the Nets struggled. In the end, he was defeated.

Full time. The Nets made 46 three-pointers. Hit 19 of them, setting a league record for single-game shots this season and ranking among the top three in NBA history.

First. They shot 13-of-22 from three-point range, compared to just 6-of-24 in the second half.

"We did a good job early in the game," Coach Johnson summed up after the game, "but tonight we had a little bit too many three-pointers, I think we were in a 'three-point fanatic', we didn't break through enough, we played too simply, but the biggest problem of the game was the defensive side, we didn't put any pressure on them, they easily got a good view and a lot of open opportunities." ”

Gao Dazhuang, who scored 42 points and 5 rebounds in this game, said in an interview with reporters after the game: "At the beginning of the game, Kawhai Leonard and Kyle Korver contributed a lot in the bottom corner, which also allowed us to put the ball in their hands, and everyone could get open opportunities, so they shot a lot of three-pointers, but in the second half, they adjusted their defensive rotation, and our shooters were not working." ”

The same Gao Dazhuang also pointed out the team's defensive problems: "Today we were never able to open the scoreline, even in the first half of the good game, they bit us tightly, we failed in defense today, we almost gave away the victory"

Yes, the Nets' problem is not just that they missed three-point shots, in the previous loss to the Grizzlies, after the Nets hit three three-pointers in the first quarter, the Grizzlies quickly adjusted, and while focusing on the defense of the Nets' shooters, the Grizzlies players began to attack the basket, forcing the opponent to shrink the defensive area, and instead found a new opportunity for the outside.

Today, the Wizards did the same, and the Nets failed to find a good way to fight back.

"We should have slowed down the pace of the game, we didn't play as often as we did in the first quarter, and the opponent made adjustments, but I think we should have done something different, we should have been more aggressive defensively." ”

The Wizards shot 66.6 percent from the field in the second half, and the Nets should realize that if they could have taken care of anything else, hitting 19 three-pointers would have been enough to win.

After the game, the Brooklyn Nets politely invited reporters out of the locker room, and soon the entire locker room was filled with only Nets coaches and players.

Now they have to sum up their losing streak and as a team with big goals, they have to find the "sticking point" that is currently plaguing the team.

After All-Star Weekend, the Nets have had several new signings join, so the roster has changed a lot, but overall, the Nets have improved.

The biggest problem with the Nets' defense now is the lack of strong centers in the lineup to protect the interior, and the biggest problem on the offensive end is that they are too obsessed with the "three-point shot".

That's what Coach Johnson desperately needs to talk to the players about at the moment.

At present, the Nets' defense is mainly based on emphasizing the pressure of the outside, so as to put a lot of pressure on the ball and force the opponent to make mistakes, so as to reduce the possibility of the ball going to the interior of their weak defense.

The Nets' defensive system has two principles, the first is that the pressure on the outside line must be enough, and the operation of the dead ball must be choked, and the second is that the rotation of the inside line must be fast.

However, the Nets did not do well in these points.

Under this principle and system, the Nets' defensive efficiency in the first half has been maintained in the top 10 or even in the top five in the league, but in the second half their defensive quality will decline.

Of course, Coach Johnson said that it will take a process for new players to join the team to fully integrate into the team, and everything is just beginning, and the problem of poor communication and lack of understanding on the defensive end of the Nets will eventually be solved.

If the Nets are to go far in the playoffs, they will need to find a solution to the "knot" problem, and they will need to find it soon.

With the defense out of the way, Coach Johnson began to comment on the team's recent offense.

"Now our team has one of the biggest problems, that is, we have to see the three-point shot as the inevitable win, the outside three-point vacancy does not talk about the shooting rate, and the three-point shot in each game is as you like, it seems that not more than three points is not playing, don't you know that the combination of inside and outside is the most reasonable way?" Coach Johnson's expression was a little serious.

"Recently, a lot of people have said that we play small-ball tactics, run and bomb, and I think some of you think so too, and I'm telling you now, no, we need to make our offense more balanced, you have to know that the playoffs are the world of defense, and the defense is more targeted, which is why the small-ball tactics have only blossomed in the playoffs" Coach Johnson paused and continued: "Although the Warriors played the Black Eight Miracle with the small ball, they were out in the second round, the Mavericks, The Suns didn't win the championship even if they played the run-and-run."

That's probably the problem for the Brooklyn Nets, who can rely on small-ball tactics and run and shoot to a good regular season.

But when it comes to the playoffs, it will be up to Tay and his younger teammates to find out that they will face bigger problems and challenges.

"After all, the three-point line is very far, and the shooting percentage can't be as high as the paint shooting, the basket and the free throw shooting percentage, we should combine inside and outside and try to hit the ball in those positions," Coach Johnson continued: "The Spurs are ranked first in the league this season, and they have been averaging less than 20 three-point shots per game, which is evidenced by the data per game, and they have put more opportunities into the paint area with a high shooting percentage, under the basket and at the free throw line, which is what makes the Spurs have such an impressive result today."

"You must know that it is not that the Spurs do not have a three-point shooter, but that the Spurs' strategic play is like this, and it is the Spurs' unique understanding and grasp of the rules of the basketball game" Coach Johnson glanced around at all the players and said slowly: "I hope you can learn from them and play your own system, both offensively and defensively."

…… (To be continued......)