There were films to watch and some minor maintenance, but yesterday was mainly devoted to shooting games, simple fun.

Win eight straight games, look good on both ends, take the lead in your division and you can afford to have fun.

“We just wanted to get them going and they got a bunch of shots up,” said coach Lawrence Frank, whose Atlantic Division-leading Nets face a six-day layoff after they made the Hawks their eighth straight conquest Friday. “As a coaching staff, you always have to feel a situation.”

So with the long layoff before seeing Orlando in the Meadowlands Friday night, the feel was loose and free.

And above all, the feeling is one of confidence. You tend to get confident when you beat the Heat in Miami as part of a three-game road trip sweep. You handle another division leader – at the time, the Clippers, then you stomp your biggest rival, the Knicks. The Nets are policing themselves, not caring whom they play.

“We just feel like we can win because we understand it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against,” said Vince Carter, averaging 32.8 points and 5.4 assists in the streak, the fourth-longest in the Nets’ NBA history. “We do what’s expected of us and asked of us each night: defend, execute, play as a team.”

The Nets as a team are doing what needs to be done. Check Richard Jefferson. In his last three games, he is averaging 24.0 points while taking just 8.7 shots a game. Jefferson is a stunning 21-of-26 (.808) from the floor in those three games. And, like everyone else, he’s not satisfied.

“We still have a long way’s to go. Things weren’t as bad as they seemed when we were losing. Things aren’t as great as they seem right now,” Jefferson said. “There are still a lot of things we can improve on.”

But the feeling is, “don’t stop now.”

“We want more wins,” Carter said. “We want to continue the streak, 10, 12 if we can. Regardless of who is on the other side, it’s what we need to do every night.”

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Nenad Krstic did not participate in yesterday’s shooting drills as his sprained left wrist remained bandaged from his fall Friday.

Carter may be more deserving than ever, but might not be voted to the All-Star team. He’s third among Eastern guards, trailing Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade. He has been voted on every year, missing once with injury.

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Carter said of a possible long weekend. “You always love to go, I look forward to playing . . . but initially it would be like, ‘Man, I didn’t make it? Oh, well, gotta go to Florida.’ “

fred.kerber@nypost.com