Following the exit of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Cam Thomas has shouldered some amount of responsibility for the Brooklyn Nets. Notably, he consistently carried the team offensively. Similarly, in tonight’s game against the Miami Heat, he almost took home the win in the nail-biting overtime clash. Despite his efforts on the court, the 22-year-old seemed to be upset with HC Jacque Vaughn’s player rotation policy. Following the tonight’s game, he even took a jab at the 48-year-old.
Recently, Vaughn took the call to bring Thomas off the bench, citing defense and rebounding productivity. But it definitely didn’t impress the rising star.
Cam Thomas hits back at Nets HC after losing to Jimmy Butler & Co
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Jimmy Butler had been struggling with a toe injury in the last few weeks. The star even missed 7 consecutive games and returned to the court on tonight’s game against the Nets. And, the return game wasn’t the easy one for the 6x NBA All-Star as the Nets nearly stole the game in the overtime.
With 4 seconds left on the 4th quarter, Butler had the opportunity to take the win, but he missed the jump shot, forced the game into overtime. In the overtime, the Heat took a close one-point win, by almost spilling it. However, Cam Thomas, who led the Nets’ offense with 23 points, had an important message to deliver.
After the loss, he addressed his concern when a reporter asked if he was comfortable coming off the bench. He responded, saying, “No… I’m just doing my job… But no, I don’t really have no comfortability coming off the bench or starting. Whatever he wants me to do, that’s what imma do.”
Asked Cam Thomas if he's gained comfortability with Nets' rotations since coming off the bench:
"No… I'm just doing my job… But no, I don't really have no comfortability coming off the bench or starting. Whatever he wants me to do that's what imma do."
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 16, 2024
So far in the season, Cam Thomas has averaged 20.6 points in his 29 minute average stay on the court. Since it’s just the 3rd season of his career, more could be expected out of this youngster.
While there is a lot of potential in Thomas, why is Jacque Vaughn making him come off the bench?
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Why is Cam Thomas coming off the bench?
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A few weeks ago, the Nets HC Vaughn decided to replace Cam Thomas with Dorian Finney-Smith in the starting line-up. Since then, the Brooklyn side has had a poor outing, winning one of their last 8 games.
After the previous loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Vaughn addressed his decision and stated his reason, reported Fansided. He said, “For a while, we were starting him, but we were just pretty small, and it was tough for us to rebound…”
Will the Nets’ continue to play Thomas, coming off the bench, following this poor record? Only time will tell.
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What do you make of Cam Thomas’ response? Let us know in the comments below.
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