{"id":52453,"date":"2023-08-16T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52453"},"modified":"2023-08-16T00:14:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T04:14:33","slug":"cam-thomas-the-brooklyn-nets-offensive-x-factor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/08\/16\/cam-thomas-the-brooklyn-nets-offensive-x-factor\/","title":{"rendered":"Cam Thomas &#8211; The Brooklyn Nets&#8217; Offensive X Factor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thomaca02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Thomas<\/a><\/strong> is an outstanding offensive talent for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/teams\/NJN\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Brooklyn Nets<\/strong><\/a>. Last year, he averaged 10.6 points on 38.3% three-point shooting and 86.8% on free throws. Thomas scored three straight 40-point games last season, becoming the <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/10064690-nets-cam-thomas-becomes-youngest-in-nba-history-to-post-3-straight-40-point-games\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">youngest player in NBA history<\/a> to achieve such a feat. As he approaches his third year, his offense will be an &#8220;X Factor&#8221; for the Nets. Although he is not always consistent, he has the tools to help elevate Brooklyn.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cam Thomas &#8211; The Brooklyn Nets&#8217; Offensive X Factor<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Soaring Potential<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There is no doubt Cam Thomas has the potential to be one of the best offensive players in the NBA. His three straight 40-point games last year are evidence of his ability. Thomas put up 44 points in 29 minutes against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/teams\/WAS\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Washington Wizards<\/strong><\/a>. Then, he scored 47 points against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/teams\/LAC\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Los Angeles Clippers<\/strong><\/a> before closing his streak with 43 points against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/teams\/PHO\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Phoenix Suns<\/strong><\/a>. Take a look at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wcHlaV_Fes4\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">highlights of his scoring display<\/a> during this historical streak. Thomas showed his high-level midrange and three-point scoring ability to generate offense for the Nets. Players around the league recognize Thomas as an elite talent. Former Hall of Fame player <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garneke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Garnett<\/a><\/strong> was impressed by Thomas&#8217; display:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s a next man up league. Brooklyn didn\u2019t get the dub but Cam Thomas was born a bucket\u2026 80+ over 2 games? Licensed killer\u2026 \ud83d\udd25\ud83c\udfc0<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KevinGarnett5KG\/status\/1622797570211733506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bridgmi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mikal Bridges<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a><\/strong> also gave Thomas props for his play last year. On Paul George&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/gMt3UhsfwT8\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Podcast P,<\/a> Bridges said this:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;He gave us 40 when I was in Phoenix. Cam, that&#8217;s my guy. He&#8217;s tough as hell. He&#8217;s unorthodox sometimes&#8230;but when you&#8217;re working out with him he&#8217;s [shooting crazy jumpshots] and making every single one of them. [He] works on it, so I [respect him]&#8221; (2023).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Paul George echoed Bridges&#8217; sentiments. It is clear that Thomas has what it takes to be an elite offensive player. The two main questions are if he can be more consistent and improve his defense.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Consistency Will Allow Thomas to Ascend<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>NBA superstars usually have games where they score well above their average, but Cam Thomas&#8217; peaks in scoring were more extreme last year. Multiple NBA players have erupted for 40-point games, but their scoring average is higher. For example, <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mitchdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Mitchell <\/a><\/b>scored 40 points or more in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/watch\/video\/donovan-mitchell-scoring-40-points-in-3-consecutive-games\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">3 consecutive playoff games<\/a> last spring. The difference between Mitchell and Thomas is Mithcell&#8217;s season average was 28.3 points compared to Thomas&#8217; 10.6. Thomas needs to score on a high level more consistently. He should aim to nearly double his points per game to maintain himself as an offensive threat.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Working on Defense<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>One of Cam Thomas&#8217; most significant weaknesses is his defense. Out of 96 shooting guards, Thomas ranked 88th in ESPN&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/statistics\/rpm\/_\/page\/3\/sort\/DRPM\/position\/2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">defense plus-minus stat<\/a> last season. At 16.6 minutes per game, Thomas does not get the same playing time as a starter, but he still needs to improve his play on defense to solidify himself at the next level.<\/p>\n<p>It seems as though Brooklyn uses Thomas as a spark plug scorer off the bench, so even with below-average defense, Thomas is valuable. Still, at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Thomas has the physical tools as well as the mentors in Brooklyn to take his defensive play to another level.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Last Word: Cam Thomas Can Push The Nets Higher<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Cam Thomas can help the Nets make a deeper regular season and postseason run. He has demonstrated his offensive talent but needs more consistency to be a greater contributor to the team. While his best asset is his offense, working on his defense will allow him to become a better all-around player. Fans and players around the league are anxious to see his improvement this Fall in Brooklyn. Within time, he will go from an &#8220;X Factor&#8221; to a true star.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cam Thomas is an outstanding offensive talent for the Brooklyn Nets. Last year, he averaged 10.6 points on 38.3% three-point shooting and 86.8% on free throws. Thomas scored three straight 40-point games last season, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to achieve such a feat. As he approaches his third year, his offense will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4642,"featured_media":52559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,62],"tags":[4069],"class_list":["post-52453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nets","category-nba","tag-cam-thomas"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4642"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}