Cam Thomas knew he needed to rating, and rating in bunches, if the Nets have been going to face an opportunity in opposition to the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
With no Kevin Durant (MCL sprain), Ben Simmons (left knee soreness), T.J. Warren (left shin contusion) or Kyrie Irving (“right calf soreness”), the Nets have been determined for buckets — and after their 43-point loss to the Boston Celtics, they have been determined for a victory.
And as soon as once more, Thomas answered the bell for a short-handed Nets crew. He scored a career-high 44 factors on 16-of-23 taking pictures from the sphere to gun the Nets again from down 23 of their 125-123 victory over the Wizards on Saturday. He additionally completed with six rebounds and 5 assists, agreeing with the assertion this was probably the most full sport of his younger NBA profession.
“In the NBA? Yeah. Tonight I had the opportunity to show off my full game,” he mentioned postgame. “I’ve always been able to do that stuff. It’s just my coaches asking me when I was coming up through every league or circuit. I was supposed to score the ball. So whatever my team needs me to do to win, that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not just going to do anything just to get praise from the media. I’m trying to help my team win.”
Thomas scored 19 of his 44 factors within the fourth quarter alone. With Irving out, the Nets wanted another person to step as much as play the nearer position within the closing interval.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned he didn’t wish to play Thomas 29 minutes however that the second-year guard’s efficiency pressured his hand.
“I think first of all I’m glad he has belief in me in the sense that we were trying to save him. These guys haven’t played 30 minutes in a long time and you saw there was a lot of stress on the guys minute-wise,” Vaughn mentioned postgame. “But to have him, we know he can make shots in the fourth. He’s done it before, he’s proven that so to try and get him to the second half was hopefully the goal. And he has the ability to make shots and he has the ability to step up in the moment and not panic.”
Thomas initiatives to maneuver up within the rotation within the occasion the Nets strike a deal that sends Irving elsewhere. The 21-year-old guard seems to Irving as a mentor and mentioned he has a robust relationship with the star guard however has not reached out to him within the aftermath of his commerce request from Brooklyn.
“For what? That’s his business. I’m trying to get ready for a game. At the end of the day, he’s made the best decision for himself,” he mentioned. “Everybody was surprised, but you know, that’s not my business. That’s still my brother at the end of the day. He’s one of the few guys I really consider a brother in basketball. Just a big brother I can look up to and ask anything. Whatever happens, happens. That’s my brother. No matter what at the end of the day.”
This is the second time Thomas has thrived in Irving’s absence. When Irving served an eight-game suspension in the midst of November for posting antisemitic supplies on his social media feeds, Thomas noticed elevated minutes and scored in double figures in 5 of these eight video games. When the Nets rested nearly all their rotation gamers in an unlikely victory over the Indiana Pacers, Thomas scored 33 factors in 39 minutes off the bench.
It’s unclear if Irving will ever put on a Nets jersey once more after one other contract standoff with Nets administration. No matter who’s in or out of the lineup, it’s clear Thomas is prepared for his second.
“It shows how hard I’ve been working to be ready for this moment when my number is called and I do what I’m supposed to do and what I can do and what I’ve been doing all my life,” he mentioned. “So it feels good just to be ready and to have an opportunity.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com