The Nets lost to the Lakers on Sunday night, dropping them to 0-17 on the season just a few hours after head coach Lawrence Frank was fired.
The 0-17 start matches an NBA record for futility.
New Jersey's Chris Douglas-Roberts doesn't think the team went into Sunday night's game against Los Angeles in the right frame of mind.
"The day started off with negative energy," said Douglas-Roberts. "A lot of the staff was sad. It was hard to prepare for [Sunday's] game. ... We're letting this really affect us, but we're not using it as motivation. We're not using it in a good way, and it's showing."
The Lakers soundly defeated the Nets 106-87.
New Jersey's next game will come on Wednesday against the Mavericks.