NBA Power Rankings: Everything revolves around LeBron James

The Nets are ramping up their 3-point shot selection, having averaged 48 3-point shots per game this week, and are up to second in the league in 3-point attempts per game (although they’re 28th in 3-point percentage). While it may seem like a good strategy for a team that is willing to play the odds of those shots falling, it wasn’t a winning strategy this week, as they lost all three games they played. They lost on Tuesday to the Rockets, 123-113, in a game where they shot 35 3-pointers, knocking down 16 of them, but you can’t out-Houston Houston, especially when James Harden is in a groove.

They had a back-to-back, having to travel to Detroit to play the Pistons on Wednesday, and although they may have been a bit fatigued, they shot 51 3-point attempts, making 17, they lost 115-106. Allen Crabbe had 19 points in the fourth quarter, drawing the Nets to within three points in the fourth quarter, but they didn’t have an answer for Blake Griffin, who answered the Nets run with a run of his own that gave them the deciding points. They must have not been satisfied with 51 3-point attempts, because they shot 59 3-point attempts in their final game of the week, a double overtime loss to the Pelicans. They showed the value of shooting 3-pointers by rallying from a 24-point deficit, but those perimeter shots didn’t fall in the final overtime period, and Anthony Davis took over.