Nets' Cam Thomas out at least three weeks with strained left hamstring
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) looks to shoot against Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. Credit: AP/Jed Jacobsohn
PHOENIX — The Nets’ injury woes got worse as they’ll be without their leading scorer for a significant time.
Cam Thomas, who was pulled from Monday’s win at Golden State, will miss at least three weeks after being diagnosed with a strained left hamstring, the team said after shootaround Wednesday.
Thomas’ injury was revealed after an MRI. He’s averaging a career-best 24.7 points per game and had 23 points in 23 minutes Monday before coach Jordi Fernandez took him out in the third quarter.
At the time, Fernandez said he wanted to protect Thomas from himself after he didn’t look right taking a foul. Thomas sat out Nov. 19 with a back injury and said he was feeling sick during last Friday’s loss at the 76ers.
The Thomas news was part of a longer list of injury updates the Nets provided Wednesday ahead of facing the Suns. Noah Clowney will be out at least two weeks due to a sprained left ankle in Sunday’s win at Sacramento. Clowney was seen at shootaround wearing a walking boot in addition to the crutches he had Monday night.
Nic Claxton was ruled out for the second consecutive game due to lower back injury management and is day-to-day.
It leaves the Nets without a healthy center for the second straight game but there was good news in that department. Day’Ron Sharpe is closer to making his season debut.
Sharpe resumed full on-court activity and is expected to return within the next week. The fourth-year center has been out since training camp with a strained left hamstring.
Claxton said last week that he’ll be managing his back issues for an extended period of time. He’s now missed five of the last seven games.
Thomas’ earliest date to be re-evaluated is Dec. 18 so he’ll miss the next six games starting Wednesday. Assuming the Nets don’t advance to the Emirates NBA Cup knockout rounds starting Dec. 10, he’ll also be sidelined for the two games that the Nets play between Dec. 12-16 for teams eliminated from the Cup.
Clowney’s earliest reevaluation date is Dec. 11 and he’ll miss at least six games.
It puts the Nets in a tougher quest looking to replace Thomas’ offense. Cam Johnson was made available ahead of Wednesday’s game, a needed relief after he missed the second half Monday with a sprained ankle.
Johnson has been on a scorching tear the last 11 games, shooting 54.9% from the field and 50.7% on three-pointers. Dennis Schroder, who had 31 points Monday, has shown he can take over games when needed.
However, the Nets know it’ll take more than two people to fill Thomas’ shoes. The size issues with Clowney out and Claxton not at full strength put them in a deeper hole as the league’s worst rebounding team.
“Obviously, you don’t want to see one of your brothers go down but Jordi always says 'next man up' and that’s the mentality that we all have,” Jalen Wilson said Monday. “We always have to pick each other up. Somebody goes down, we got to find a way to win and pick up for them."
That’s what the Nets did. Despite being down seven players after Johnson and Thomas got hurt in-game, they rallied from an 18-point third quarter deficit to defeat Golden State.
That task gets harder Wednesday against the Suns, who welcomed back former Net Kevin Durant Tuesday after injury. The Suns are 9-1 this season with Durant healthy.
Durant showed respect to his former team last night by praising their recent wins and calling himself a “Net for life” for the memories he had in his four seasons there.
“They’re playing great ball,” Durant said. “People didn’t expect them to be out here beating teams like Golden State….they got some good wins throughout the season so far. I’m looking forward to seeing everybody and competing against them."
The Nets, of course, have to more to worry about than facing an old friend. A promising start of this rebuilding season is now in danger with Thomas and Clowney hurt
Side note
Two-way player Jaylen Martin will miss at least 1-2 weeks with a right knee bone contusion. Martin was injured Sunday in Long Island’s game against Raptors 905 in the G League.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
