Cam Thomas and the Brooklyn Nets suffered a lopsided loss against the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
For Thomas, it was his third game back since missing a large chunk of the season. With the veteran guard seeing his playing time restricted, he was on the bench for a key Rockets run during the outing. Thomas had to watch his team without being given the opportunity to help with his scoring punch.
After the game, Thomas was asked about the situation. He had a simple two-word response.
“No comment,” said the sharpshooter.
For the third game in a row, Thomas came off the bench. After seeing the court for under 20 minutes in his last two outings, the veteran collected 23 minutes of action against Houston.
During that time, Thomas shot 8-13 from the field, scoring 21 points. He also had one rebound and one assist.
“Pretty efficient game offensively,” said Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez.
“Not so much with the turnovers. Got to be cleaner. Then on the defensive end, got to be more solid with coverages, and so on and so forth. Good scoring punch with the minutes that he’s playing right now. The most important thing is how his body responds now, which is important for what he’s gone through. So far happy with, obviously his superpower is scoring, but I need better defense and better playmaking.”
Thomas finished the night with a team-high four turnovers. On a positive note, his scoring helped him be the only player in the plus column (+2) from Brooklyn’s side. Either way, it didn’t matter. The Nets suffered a 120-96 beatdown to the Rockets.
What’s Next for Cam Thomas?
The veteran guard simply has to stay healthy.
Once the team feels he’s in the clear, Thomas will likely earn a starting role once again. Then, he can begin building his value for when he hits the open market next summer.
While Thomas struggled to garner desirable deals as a restricted free agent this past summer, he’s got plenty of time to remind teams just how useful he can be as a scorer.
In 10 games this season, Thomas has averaged 21.4 points while shooting 42 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc.