NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has missed the past 20 games for the Nets due to a left hamstring strain that he suffered on Nov. 5. The good news is that Brooklyn announced that Thomas is expected to play in Saturday’s game at the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing almost two months and he gave some insight into what his rehab process was like.
“It depends on what kind of injury it is and what kind of grade it could be. It’s definitely a process, for sure. Can’t rush it. Can’t rush the process,” Thomas said after Friday’s practice. When Thomas initially suffered his hamstring strain in a 112-103 win at the Indiana Pacers, the Nets announced on Nov. 7 that he would be reevaluated in three to four weeks from that date, but didn’t describe the kind of strain he was dealing with.
Thomas, 24, is averaging 21.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 40.2% from the field and 35.6% from three-point land in eight games played. When he returns to the lineup for Saturday’s game at the Timberwolves, Thomas will be joining a Nets team that has turned things around on the defensive end of the floor in a massive way, but he isn’t worried about how he’ll get back into the tempo of the team after missing so much time.
“Every team adjusts when a certain player goes out. Every team that I saw adjusts to who’s out there playing. We’ll figure it out. Just go out there and play ball, it’s not rocket science,” Thomas said when asked for his perspective. “We’ll just go out there, figure out who’s out there together and figure out how to play amongst each other. Obviously, it’s been a while since we all played with each other in a real game. It’s going to be a learning curve for a few games, but we’ll figure it out quick.”
Since Nov. 6, the Nets are 27th in the league in offensive rating (111.3), but they are also eighth in defensive rating (112.2) so it remains to be seen what Brooklyn plays like with Thomas back in the fold. Minnesota will be one of the best teams that the Nets have faced this season so if they’re going to upset the Timberwolves, Thomas and forward Michael Porter Jr. will have to be at their best to offset Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle.