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Cam Thomas has mostly struggled for the Brooklyn Nets since coming back from his ankle sprain that sidelined him for nine games in November. While he had a great game against the Charlotte Hornets, Thomas has been struggling in his last two games against better opponents.
In the three games since Thomas came back from his injury, he is averaging 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, but is shooting just 38.9% from the field and 37.5% from three-point land. Aside from the game against Charlotte, it’s clear that teams are starting to respond to Thomas’ scoring prowess by blitzing him in the pick-and-roll and forcing Thomas into more of a playmaker role in that action.
In Wednesday’s 114-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Thomas had just six points and five turnovers as the Hawks forced the ball out of his hands when they were able to bring a second player into the fold. The doubling threw off Thomas’ timing as he became unsure of when to shoot and when to pass when facing that type of defensive attention and his game took a turn for the worst.
Ultimately, Thomas will have to learn to deal with those defensive maneuvers better if he wants to be a consistently great offensive force. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn spoke on Thomas facing that kind of defensive pressure and what that means for his growth as a player:
“I take him (Cam Thomas) out the game, I sat next to him. I said this is great, this is this is growing for you. Also, can you imagine that a team is double-teaming you and you got to find a way how to react to it? Then, he made some adjustments.”