Rookie Cam Thomas has begun to impress Nets
Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) celebrates with forward Kevin Durant, right, after scoring three points in the final seconds of the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Knicks, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. Credit: AP/John Minchillo
He’s only months into his NBA career, but the Nets already believe they have something special in Cam Thomas.
The rookie, who scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter of the Nets’ 28-point comeback win over the Knicks, went ISO to hit a dagger three from well beyond the top of the key with 7.7 seconds left to ice the game.
"We know that about Cam — he loves those moments," Steve Nash said. "There’s a gene in there somewhere, and he has it." Nash added that he was "holding \[his\] breath" when Thomas stepped back for the three. "I wouldn’t have taken that shot," he joked.
"It was 16.0 on the shot clock," Thomas said. "We went into the backcourt, and then when I saw Coach Steve tell everyone to flatten out, I knew it was one-on-one time. I went to my go-to move .
Thomas also got kudos from Kevin Durant, who celebrated him on the sideline and tweeted "Way to lead us tonight 24 .
With the 111-106 win, the Nets matched their biggest comeback in franchise history and extended their win streak to two as they try to hold on with some of their biggest names out of the picture, many for extended periods of time. Nash said before the game that Durant, who hasn’t played since Jan. 15 because of an MCL sprain, likely won’t be back right after the All-Star Game.
"There’s obviously a small chance" he comes back right after the All-Star Game, in the Feb. 24 game against the Celtics, Nash said, "but we want to be really careful because a setback would be tough.
"We don’t want to jeopardize \[his health\] and have a setback where he misses another six to 12 games, so I think we’ll be cautious coming out of the break. There’s a chance he could play but I think it’s more likely that we don’t get our hopes up that he’s going to play the first game out of the break."
The Nets do have another star in the wings in Ben Simmons, but there also is no timetable on his return to the court. Nash said Simmons’ progression will be similar to that of a player coming back from injury, he said.
"He gets back on the court, we continue the assessment process. \[When\] he reaches barriers, we allow more, until he’s crossed the line on all the different parameters and high intensity, consecutive high-intensity workouts [TO THE POINT]where our performance team trusts that he’s safe enough not only to perform but to recover and to withstand the demands of the game," Nash said.
Joe Harris’ future is in limbo, and Nash wouldn’t rule out the possibility that he could need yet another surgery on his ankle. Harris experienced a setback last month.
"I think everything’s on the table at this point," he said. "We hope that he comes back, but we have no idea where this is going to go at this point. We’re just continuing his rehab and hopefully we get some good signs and positive signs soon, but I have no update other than that."
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.