WASHINGTON -- After the Washington Wizards lost for the fifth time in six games under new coach Scott Brooks, shooting guard Bradley Beal stood in the home locker room and spoke in hushed tones, trying to wrap his head around whats gone wrong so far.We dont want to be 1-5 right now. Everybodys frustrated. Everybodys mad, Beal said. At the end of the day, we all got to look at ourselves in the mirror individually first, before we start pointing fingers. Just try to figure out how we can get better. We all got to play better individually, one through 15.The problems are adding up already for a club that made two consecutive trips to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs before going 41-41 and missing out last season, costing Brooks predecessor, Randy Wittman, his job.A .500 record would sound great at this point; only the Philadelphia 76ers, at 0-6, are worse in the East. Heading into Wednesdays game against the visiting Boston Celtics -- and things dont get any easier after that, with LeBron James and the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers in town on Friday -- the Wizards are among the leagues poorest defensive teams, and theyre not scoring all that much, either.Hardly an ideal combination. And Brooks thinks theres a connection, because when his players arent putting the ball in the basket, he senses that they lose the will to keep opponents from racking up points.That happens, and thats not a good trait for a basketball team. You cant ride the roller coaster of making shots, because if you have a great night, youre (still) going to miss half your shots. And in order to have a great defensive night, you cant have that dictate your defensive intensity, your defensive disposition, Brooks said Monday night after Washingtons 114-106 loss to James Harden and the Houston Rockets.The Wizards allowed the Rockets to make 52 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 46 percent of their 3-pointers.Were not going to pitch a no-hitter, Brooks added. When they made a couple shots, we got down, and weve got to correct that.The type of stretch hes talking about came against Houston in the second quarter, when Washington missed 10 shots in a row during a 16-0 run for the visitor.Afterward, an irritated-sounding Brooks criticized his players for not putting forth maximum defensive effort for a games full 48 minutes, saying: Weve talked about it enough. Now we have to do it.It echoed Wittmans frequent lament about his teams defense, and the numbers are pretty stark this season.Washington is tied for the worst opponent 3-point shooting percentage in the 30-club NBA at 39.5, and ranks second-worst in overall shooting-percentage defense at 46.7. The Wizards are giving up 105.5 points per game.All-Star point guard John Wall, who broke Hall of Famer Wes Unselds franchise record for career assists before getting ejected in the final minute Monday, conceded that Brooks is correct. He pointed to problems in transition defense, in particular, and allowing open tries on 3s.We just have lapses, Wall said. When we turn the ball over or take bad shots, we have lapses where we dont get back.Part of the bigger-picture problem is that Washington is not able to overcome its defensive woes with its offense: Its one of only nine teams in the league averaging under 100 points (98.7) and ranks 27th in 3-point shooting percentage (29.4).Its adding up to loss after loss for a club that began the season expecting a return to the playoffs.We know theres a lot of games left, Wall said, but you cant keep falling back any further.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Wade Davis Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Colorado Rockies Jerseys . 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NEW YORK -- Yoenis Cespedes has opted out of the remaining two years of his contract with the New York Mets to become a free agent again, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the decision had not been announced.Acquired by the Mets from Detroit at the July 31 trade deadline in 2015, Cespedes had 17 home runs and 44 RBI in 57 games with the Mets down the stretch, helping them reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.After finding a slow market in a free-agent class that also included Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton, Cespedes made a surprise return to the Mets when New York agreed in January to a $75 million, three-year contract that allowed him to opt out after one season and $27.dddddddddddd.5 million.Cespedes had 31 homers and 86 RBI in 132 games, slowed after injuring his right quadriceps on July 8. He hit one home run after Sept. 11.The 31-year-old slugger gives up $47.5 million -- $23.75 million in each of the next two years.Other outfielders on the free-agent market include major league home run leader Mark Trumbo, Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Josh Reddick and Matt Holliday. The Cubs Dexter Fowler has said he will decline his mutual option and join the free agents. ' ' '