**Cam Thomas and those 40+ points games – three successive – no 21 year had achieved that feat since Iverson. Cam also scored 46 point in the final regular season game against the 76ers.**
**The discourse I often heard for the past 8 months is it doesn’t matter if Cam Thomas scores 40+ because the Nets lose.**
**It made me think. Why? I’ve watched the YouTube highlights several times.**
**Was Cam shooting the Nets out of the game? Was he taking so many shots and only worried about getting his points rather than making the better play for the team?**
**I’ve always thought the narrative around Cam’s 40+ points games has been wrong.**
**Let’s explore the facts.**
**February 2023**
**Wizards at Nets. Brooklyn’s starting five = Royce, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Sumner and Claxton.**
**Cam Thomas comes off the bench to score 44 points in 29 minutes.**
**16/23, 4/5, /8/9 – 69/80/89**
**Highlights -** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIvR2GZs-uw&t=25s**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIvR2GZs-uw&t=25s)
**Cam scores 40+. Nets win.**
**Final score Brooklyn 125 – Wizards 123 -**
**Two days later.**
**Clippers at Nets**
**Brooklyn’s starting five = Royce, Joe Harris, Cam Thomas, Sumner and Claxton.**
**Cam scores a career high 47 points.**
**15/29, 7/11, 10/11 on 50/63/95**
**Highlights -** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA8XCV58ogY&t=4s**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA8XCV58ogY&t=4s)
**The Clippers were at full strength. Kawhi and Paul George played heavy minutes and they have praised Cam’s game ever since.**
**The Nets lost the game against the Clippers because they were playing without KD, Kyrie, Ben Simmons and also no Seth Curry. Our biggest scoring threat after Cam was Joe Harris! How many teams are gonna win missing 3 all-stars?**
**Later that week Phoenix visits Brooklyn.**
**Brooklyn’s starting five = Royce, Joe Harris, Cam Thomas, Ben Simmons and Claxton.**
**Cam Thomas scores 43 points against the Suns.**
**Highlights -** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnTH9UOeqPo&t=18s**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnTH9UOeqPo&t=18s)
**11/23, 3/9, 18/20 on** **50/33/90 so his 3pt % dropped a bit but Cam was facing Phoenix’s starting five of Mikal and CJ (just before they were traded) plus Booker, Ayton, CP3. A very good team.**
**One factor the Nets lost the game is because they were playing without KD and Kyrie. Ben Simmons played but only scored two points! A week later Ben played his last game of the season still in February.**
**April 2023**
**Cam’s 46 point game in the regular season against Philly when both teams played their end of the bench rotation and rested starters and veterans.**
**46 points – Highlights**
[**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x\_ZkoZp2o4**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x_ZkoZp2o4)
**Cam against 76ers = 16/29, 6/8, 8/8 on 55/75/100.**
**These are incredible numbers but Cam got very little playing time in the play-offs and Brooklyn needed points. They had trouble scoring and yet the guy who can get a bucket was left on the bench. I have to question Coach JV’s judgement.**
**I can understand JV wanting Cam to work harder on defence and not get lost on the rotations. I know the ball sticks to Cam’s hand too much. Although in these games of 40+ points Cam dished out several nice assists showing he has good court vision.**
**Let’s rewind further to December 2022 – Nets at Pacers.**
**Brooklyn decides to rest Kevin Durant, Kyrie,** **Nic Claxton, Seth Curry,** **Joe Harris, Royce O’Neale, Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren.**
**Nets starting line up: Markieff Morris, Kessler Edwards, Day’Ron Sharpe, Patty Mills, Sumner. – Urgh!**
**Cam Thomas only plays 29 minutes off the bench and scores 33 points. Cam scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, without his effort there is no way the team wins that game.**
**Cam at Pacers 13/20, 3/3, 4/6**
**65/100/80.**
**Elite efficiency and steps up when given the opportunity.**
**33 points – Highlights**
[**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gno94O6Phy8**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gno94O6Phy8)
**Now I’ve considered all the data I see a very different picture than what many paint about Cam Thomas and his heavy scoring. They say “He scores big but the Nets lose so what is the point?”. But as I illustrate this isn’t true at all.**
**Cam scored 40+ against these three teams with no other reliable scoring options available on the team. Mikal and CJ tried to defend Cam but he put 43 on the Suns.**
**The Nets were playing with a significantly depleted roster. It’s one reason CT even got the minutes. Dinwiddie had not yet re-joined Brooklyn in the Kyrie trade.**
**Yet Cam did not shoot the Nets out of these games. His efficiency was incredible.**
**The 50–40–90 club is a statistical achievement used to distinguish players as the most excellent and efficient shooters. It requires a player to shoot 50%FG, 40% 3pt% and 90%FT.**
**Only 11 players in NBA history have become part of the 50-40-90. You have to average the numbers over an entire season to show consistency.**
**For Nets fans Kyrie achieved membership for the 2020/2021 season. KD achieved the feat a second time in 2022/2023.**
**The other two players who have achieved it more than once are Steve Nash and Larry Bird.**
**Cam’s three successive 40+ games**
**Wizards = 69/80/89**
**Clippers = 50/63/95**
**Suns = 50/33/90**
**76ers** = **55/75/100.**
**Yet after these hyper-efficient, high scoring games Cam was benched. It doesn’t make sense. I thought it might have been because Cam gets the ball shoots and put up huge numbers on low efficiency but the absolute opposite is true.**
**The narrative is corrected. Cam scoring 40+ did not contribute to the Nets losing. He shot at all-time levels of efficiency instead. There are a number of true believers for Cam who recognise his elite scoring ability but we’re often met with people who don’t rate him or want him traded, ridiculous. I hope they read this and perhaps it changes their opinion.**
**If you’ve read this far then you deserve to watch a video which contains every bucket from his three game extravaganza:** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcHlaV\_Fes4**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcHlaV_Fes4)
by addictivesign
6 Comments
second, JV should definitely give cam more minutes this year. He should be the sixth man and lead the bench if he can fit in the offense flow
I forget about that 46 point game I need to watch the highlights
44 in 29 minutes? 😳
Cam is another player I’ll never fully understand why some fans look at him the way they do… I think some really think just because you a coach you can do no wrong or you always have to agree with him… If Vaughn don’t give cam at least 20-25 minutes this season he should be fired we are wasting can on the bench for what? We aren’t winning shit might as well find out what cam is or can be if you give him consistent minutes it made sense when we had KD, Kyrie harden his 1st and 2nd year but once that trade happened he should’ve been playing close to 30 instead of us being forced to watch patty mills and curry who are no longer here…
You didn’t “fix” the narrative of the Nets losing when CT scores 40+… you just said it was someone else’s fault for most of those games being Nets losses… Ls are still Ls
Scoring 40 points on 50/63/95 splits while being guarded by Paul George is insane
Clearly his issue is ‘coach-ability’ and his fit with team mates and the game plan. Absolutely the guy can score, no one can deny that, but to me it’s like he is going out and ignoring the game plan or something because there just can’t be absolutely no reason that he isn’t getting minutes.