Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas had a quiet game in the season-opener at the Charlotte Hornets in which it looked like he was still figuring things out on the offensive end. Thomas looked like he was about to have a similar game in Friday’s 131-124 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers before turning things around in the second half and he explained what led to the shift in his play.
“Yeah, just a little bit of that (mental adjustment). Also, my teammates saying be aggressive, we need you to be aggressive and play off me,” Thomas said after Friday’s loss to the Cavaliers. Thomas finished the contest with one of his best games in a Nets uniform with 33 points and nine assists, with him notching 20 of those points and five of those assists in the second half.
“So, I think that really helps because at the end of day, you want to play the right way,” Thomas continued. “And, still find the guys, but at the same time, I still gotta be myself and be aggressive. And then, find the guys when they’re open. I think I did a good job of that. They made shots, I’m very proud everybody and, just want to keep building on it.”
For the majority of the loss at the Hornets and the first half against Cleveland, Thomas looked like he was more focused of finding his teammates like forward Michael Porter Jr. for their offense. Porter finished with 31 points in the contest and with Thomas and Porter clicking at the same time, Brooklyn was able to come back from a 25-point deficit to make things interesting in the end.
Despite Brooklyn still losing to the Cavaliers, Barclays Center was as loud as it could be and it seemed that the team was turning a corner in terms of how each teammate interacted with each other. Friday showed that if the Nets are going to be competitive against some of the best teams in the league, Thomas has to be one of the focal points of the offense and it seems that he is beginning to embrace that role and responsibility.