Cam Thomas will finally get back on the court Thursday against the Charlotte Hornets and it’s an exciting time for the team and fans. Thomas was among the league leaders in scoring when he hurt his ankle and now will return to action.
What should the Nets do with their starting lineup and who is set to move to the bench? Or will Jacque Vaughn put Cam Thomas in the 6th man role? There’s a lot to figure out with this move.
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32 Comments
Nets have been playing well with their top scorer, rebounder and playmaker out with injuries
First off it's so great to have Cam Thomas back! Brooklyn struggled a bit to find their offensive flow without both Simmons and Thomas. But lately they have been finding that balance and getting Thomas back will be a huge boost to the offense 🔥…
I know some people might not like this but given he missed a few weeks Thomas coming off the bench could be a good thing because it will allow hin to build up his momentum again….
But if Thomas is feeling really good, Mikal Bridges Cam Johnson Spencer Dinwiddie Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton could be a good rotation…
Either way Thomas will help give the offense another jolt…
we have the best talent for back to back games. We cam have two different top notch starting line ups . Maybe, not just back to back games.
We don’t need Ben Simmons anymore we have Watford
Cam thomas has to start hes 22 hes the current future a scoring machine no one pays to go see dfs or dinwiddie even cam johnson the disrespect to cam thomas is ridiculous build the team around him not bring him off bench for guys like spencer that probably wont even be here next year. Cam our only hope of a superstar on the roster as of now.
It will be Jacque Vaughn wet dream, having cam thomas coming of the bench
I dont wanna hear about spencers net rating hes at 14 ppg 6 assist on a brutal 40 percent fg percentage hes not jason kidd ! Din is ok solid player nothing else while cam t a budding star.
Have u heard anything about ben
Why you guys think cam is so special?? Scoring is not everything. They're playing great right now.
Let cam learn to play defense and pass the ball. High scorer and being a loser doesn't work. You have to win.
His ego will get to him soon. Wait.
Cameron Johnson is getting paid. Why should he come off the bench???? Ridiculous
Excellent discussion.
Those guys pushing for us to trade Ben for Siakham are delirious. Siakam couldn't get Toronto over the line against us, what do you think he could do for us against Boston, Dallas, Philly, the Bucks or the Nuggets? Do you really think Siakam could take us to a win against any of those teams? Really? Really. I don't think so.
What this team really needs is a coach who could sit down with Ben and tell him to improve his free throw shooting. Maybe change hands, practice 4 hours a day, see a sports psychologist or whatever it takes to get him to do something about his scoring. Because his ability in all other areas of the game is elite and I mean really really elite.
If Ben could improve his free throws up to around 80% he'd be a 30 point tripple double threat every game. Against any team.
We just need a coach who can get through to him. Maybe a coach and a manager.
The clock is ticking Ben is 27 years old if this is going to happen it needs to start now.
But then again maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Ben doesn't care about bball after next year. Maybe he's got other things he wants to do after next year. Because I don't think he wants to keep playing for another 10 years on the vets minimum.
Wow…what a mind bender. In my mind, Bridges, Spencer, and Claxton have to start. I guess I’d go with the two Cam’s in the other 2 spots…which I think is what you guys settled on. DFS and Lonnie Walker are the first front and back court subs. Yeah, it’s a deep rotation…but as you say…a very nice problem to have.
Let’s go Cam Thomas is back love watching him work!
Definitely not an easy decision based on the politics, but if you take politics out of this cam Johnson should come off the bench.
Couple reasons I have for that. First, the team pretty much started season without Cam Johnson in the starting lineup so they’ve done that before. Second, you really can’t take Din out of the lineup because there’s no Ben Simmons and he’s the only capable point guard on the roster. Third, I kind of feel like bridges is a better small forward than he is to guard. Fourth, if you remove DFS from the starting lineup, then you become really really small and you’re rebounding is really gonna suffer.
So for me, the guy, Cam Johnson coming off the bench.
What I think will happen is that either Din will come off the bench OR much to our Disappointment cam Thomas will come off the bench.
Funny enough I know they’re gonna be some out there who will say Ben Simmons resolves this issue because he’s a point guard and a rebounder so he’s kinda like DFS and Din in one so when he comes back you are whole. But at this point, can anybody truly trust that Ben Simmons can stay healthy long enough for it to matter?
I dont know.. i really tried to like Spencer but i cant. He makes big difference in 1 game of 10.
Love cam and cant wait to see him back!! Lets goooooo brooklyn
As problems go, it's a beautiful problem. We learned, by having guys out injured, a lot about other players and the ways they work together in various combinations. Now as we get injured ones back, yeah there are points you made well. I think some of it is just going to work itself out.
First, guys came back in recently whose injuries we still need to prevent recurrence of…there's like three or so of those. Then now Cam T coming back…we don't want to put too many minutes on too fast. So that's a flexibility factor.
Second, this team is and has been building a brotherhood of unselfish play, having each other's backs and general good attitude, so the ego (/drive) piece isn't as contentious as it would be with a different group of guys.
Third, there are other changing factors like rest days, who is in or out on opposing team, fouls, and whose shooting is hot that night for us.
So really it's gonna be flexibility and teamwork, and a great 10, a couple of good 6ths, and a talented bench. Mighty fine as problems go. Should be interesting 😅
If there's anything JV does well – and I'm not a huge fan, is not complain or make an issue of guys being available and not. His attitude is genuine and has no baggage linked to one player or another. That's come in handy the past 2 years.
Cam Johnson is so far not living up to his contract but in his defense he hasn't been healthy but honestly i thing he's a role player not a top three option
The backcourt has to be Dinwiddie and Cam
When Ben comes back you move Dinwiddie off the bench with Walker.
I'll probably get hate for this but I think Dorian finney-smith is better then Cam Johnson all around 🤷
I’ve been hard on JV but in the last 5 games he’s had good rotation switches…CT is back and I am excited for bro
Ngl, prioritizing cam’s development takes precedence over winning games when we know we’re not winning a chip. This kid legit has all star potential. And with consistent minutes finally on his plate, has been improving in every other area. Start cam.
Honestly I think of the Nets were to make the decision to bench Cam Johnson they might as well trade him at the all star break for some draft capital, there are many teams who could use his services to contribute to winning in this league.
Good luck with Cam Thomas as your potential franchise star, I'm sure this team will go far 😏
There isn't a sure fire lineup, so in a sense, I think the "easy" decision is to sub Cam for Spencer. From a FO perspective, we know what Spencer gives us and he is on an expiring contract. Maybe they bring him back on a cheaper deal, or maybe they don't. But the Twins aren't going anywhere. DFS is signed to a decent long-term deal. The Nets might as well find out now how this core of Cam and the Twins can play together, because at some point, there is going to be a decision to be made here, because barring some major skill development, the three of them don't really "fit" together. Find out how these three "fit" together, and if they don't, then you either sell high on Cam, or you go into the off-season building a roster that can make those three guys in the line-up work.
However you analyze the situation, the challenge we face with Cam Thomas's return reflects poorly on Jacque Vaughn. Before Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson even took a dribble for the Nets, Cam Thomas was 2-2 post-superstar trades, with three of those games featuring a 40+ point explosion. This presented an ideal opportunity to gain early clarity on combinations involving Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges. Opting for DNPs for Cam Thomas in favor of Seth Curry is a significant factor contributing to our current predicament, leaving us to speculate about unexplored lineups due to insufficient minutes for analysis. The discourse around Cam Thomas often overlooks his age and developmental stage, treating him as if he's entering his prime rather than recognizing him as a third-year 22-year-old. For the organization and Coach Vaughn to determine if Cam Thomas is our player of the future, a commitment is needed, acknowledging his youth at 22. Many organizations in similar situations make decisions for clarity, often building around a featured young player. Before the recent 3-game winning streak, we experienced a 3-game losing streak without Cam Thomas. Using wins and losses as a reason to keep him out of the starting lineup is questionable, as evidenced by the Memphis Grizzlies' insertion of Ja Morant upon his return, despite a 20-5 record without him in 2021-22. Ultimately, the future of the Brooklyn Nets should not hinge on the shoulders of 30-year-old players with expiring contracts and those already at their peak.
@16:47 mark. I don't think reb will be a problem. We are Reb at a high rate because everyone is crashing the glass. Even cam goes for rebs. So I highly doubt replacing dfs with cam will cause for a huge dip in reb. If we continue ro gang reb.
Cam is too good to not start for the Nets, and it would be unfair not to put him back in the starting lineup given how Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton were able to start once they returned.
Split up the Cams. With Claxton/DFS—Nets’ best frontline defenders, with zero need for the ball on offense—you can get away with Dinwiddie/Thomas in the backcourt. Cam Johnson off the bench is actually sort of a promotion; let him be more of a playmaker/point-forward next to Lonnie Walker. (He’s better at it than Bridges.)
Yall kinda undervaluing Cam Johnson here with this bench role talk lol