Getty Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets
Almost a month into the NBA season, one of the surprising things we’ve seen from the Brooklyn Nets has been the relative mediocrity of the team’s offense, with a efficiency rating of 107.1 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 17th in the league according to NBA.com stats. Sure, the team has not had Kyrie Irving on the floor at all this year, and James Harden has had a slow start, but this is a steep drop from the 117.3 points per 100 possessions rating the Nets boasted last year, tops in the league.
One issue beyond the Irving and Harden problems has been the play of the bench, which has point guard Patty Mills (9.0 points per game) and veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge (12.6 points), but very little else by way of offensive punch. The Nets score 32.8 points per game off the bench, which ranks 18th in the league.
That’s had some observers around the Nets wondering whether the team will turn, eventually, to a high-scoring option who had s not yet had much of a chance: rookie Cam Thomas, the 20-year old high-scoring rookie who was selected with the 27th pick in this year’s draft.
Thomas raised some eyebrows around the NBA during the Las Vegas Summer League when he averaged 27.0 points per game in four games, winning the MVP award, and reinforced that by scoring 21 points in his preseason debut, when the Nets played the Lakers last month.
Thomas Could Play But Not Likely ‘Anytime Soon’
Thomas also scored 35 points in 35 minutes to start the season for the Long Island Nets of the G League. That was impressive, but is Thomas ready for a role? That was the question put to team insider Alex Schiffer of The Athletic this week, and though Schiffer left open the possibility that we could see Thomas get some run, he does not expect that to happen in the near future.
He wrote:
Given the offense’s struggles, there have been a few times I’ve wondered if we’d see Thomas in a game. When the offense goes stagnant or cold and Kevin Durant is the only player teams are worried about, there’s a case to throw Thomas out there and see if he can provide a spark for them. I wonder if the Nets haven’t seen what they’d like to out of Thomas from a defensive or playmaking standpoint. Right now, the Nets are healthy aside from Nicolas Claxton and have been getting their offense from veterans such as LaMarcus Aldridge. Until the guys in front of him falter, I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
Thomas Is Learning from Durant, Harden
The veterans on the Nets seem to have taken a shine to Thomas, who does not lack for confidence. He has been tutored, during training camp and now in practice, by some of the top scorers in the history of the league—Kevin Durant and James Harden.
“I’ve learned a lot of tricks form them just by watching them when I wasn’t in the league, just by watching them, you know,” Thomas said last month. “When James was in Houston, I really picked up a lot of his moves, tricks of the trade, the way he draws fouls. I got a lot of that from when he was in Houston. Even last year in Brooklyn, I was watching him. … Seeing him up close and personal, it is even better because you’re getting actual hands-on experience, you can really take some stuff from that.”