Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas may be destined to lead the Nets starting five, but in the short-term Jacque Vaughn and the Nets need to maximize two of their top talents, and the team overall. In facing the dilemma of splitting up non-shooters Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton, the Nets may actually stumble into a solution to both problems.
Adam looks at how the emergence of Cam Thomas, which is an overwhelming positive, could also be mitigating Mikal Bridges role. Inside the 2022-23 minutes, combined with offseason additions like Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonnie Walker, could be the solution to creating one of the more consistent top to bottom rosters in the league.
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20 Comments
This is the first but probably wont be the last time we'll have two starters missing from the regular rotation. It'll be as good of a time as any to put in players that don't get much PT. I would like to see Giles, Sharpe, Watford, and even Wilson get some burn.
We gotta get this dub against Charlotte today…now about CT…he’s a bucket… we get that. But he NEEDS TO PLAY MORE. At least 32 minutes a game so he can unlock his true potential. The only way we can see how great his value is is if he plays more. He’s an offensive prodigy
No coach in their right mind would be playing Claxton over Simmons as the starter. Simmons is a 3 time all star, and has the capacity and ability to get others good shots. He should be starting with Claxton coming off the bench.
Just get a stretch 5 already. That immediately fixes our offensive issues
You kind of alluded to the problem, Ben, Simmons and claxton can play together but what has to happen is Spencer. Dinwiddie has to be a on-ball scorer in the starting unit and not a catch and shoot player that would help open up the floor just a little bit more
I need to see some more games with this roster before I have any strong opinions on units/rotations. Right now, I will say that Cam Thomas should get at least 30 minutes per. Also, need to utilize Lonnie Walker off the bench.
Honestly, the nets don’t have a perfect puzzle piece type lineup but if you’re going to get a Cam Thomas into the starting lineup then I think the best of a not so great situation is to move Dinwiddie to the bench.
I said from the jump Street that Claxton and Ben Simmons are going to create issues. The truth is that one of them should be coming off the bench that would pretty much fix the issue but from a value standpoint I don’t think you can bench either one. In order to maximize both of these players trade values, you have to start them. Let’s get something straight I don’t wanna trade Claxton he’s young and I would much rather move Ben Simmons before I try to move Claxton but let’s say they decide they want to move Claxton because they don’t want to pay him then you need to start him so that he’s a big-time trade asset come the deadline to flip for a better fit with Ben. A guy that I might not necessarily want but probably fits pretty well with Ben Simmons is a Karl Anthony-towns.
Or let’s say they wanna trade Ben Simmons I could see you trade down the line for a Donovan Mitchell
So you gotta start these two guys because depending on which way you might want to go, you need to keep their value high.
My honest opinion is PLEASE trade Claxton away from this mess of a team,and coaching staff. He would be much better off somewhere else, although he's always said that he wants to stay in BK. But, let go with this, keep Simmons and move Claxton. Simmons is playing well but tenuous at best (back and mental), all it takes is an issue, a string of bad games and he falls back into the guy he's been for the past THREE seasons. They would look very foolish for the decision. And, lets start Sharpe and move Claxton…lol. can you see Sharpe checking Joker, Embid, AD. Sabonis, Giannis/Brooke, and so on as a main 5?? For the season? Ok, lets start Giles, he's almost in the same boat as Ben after missing TWO season, and constantly injured( not his fault at all). But again, as a Claxton fan…PLEASE get him away from this team/coach.
Simmons needs to run the first unit. Trade claxton for a stretch 5 and some draft picks. This rotation isn't going to work as is..play cam thomas alongside simmons they mesh well together
Brilliant point adam that sample size of cam thomas and ben simmons together +5 over 600 mins. And that was 2022 cam thomas and 2022 simmons. Things are looking up for 2023 with new and improved versions of both players…sky is the limit. Build around our strengths
Starting: Clax DFS CJ Bridges Spencer
2nd Unit: Simmons Royce CamT DSJ Lonnie
Closing: Clax CJ Bridges CamT Spence
Even if we had a stretch 5 Ben Simmons still gon take 5 shots a game. The problem is simmons & claxton get in the way of the GUARDS which makes it harder FOR THEM to score.
This commentary is so well done. Go Nets. Coach should take notes
Nic claxton we do need his athleticism & defense but I believe we will be without Cam Johnson for a bit. Lonnie Walker did well with his minutes & Royce played well too. Clax is the more significant miss
Adam, you absolutely crushed this episode. I love how you skillfully utilized available data to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Brooklyn Nets roster. Your approach of letting the numbers speak for themselves was examplary, avoiding any over-hyping of players. I appreciate your courage in suggesting that Ben Simmons might be better suited coming off the bench – a notion I've supported since the summer. The continuity and cohesion of the previous starting unit in the last 26 games were evident, with the only missing piece being a closer. Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Lonnie Walker, and Royce Oneal would make a formidable bench lineup in the NBA, even with all due respect to Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie. Putting the ball in Cam Thomas's hands during crunch time makes perfect sense, given his ability to draw fouls, a valuable asset in closing out games.
This trade will benefit both teams. Trade Claxton and Dinwiddie for Deandre Ayton.
In theory, Cam T and Bridges should be able to play well together.
Bridges has played off-ball for a majority of his career and there's no reason he can't be a very effective offensive player in that role. He's better off dribbling less and using his length to shoot over defenders, anyway. That also allows him to save his energy for the defensive side of the floor.
Cam should be this team's offensive focus and he should function as one of their primary ball handlers. He's cooks virtually every defender that's in front of him and routinely makes shots with little spacing to work with. That being said, he MUST improve his shot selection and be a willing passer when he doesn't have a good shot or the shots aren't falling.
These Nets have a ton of potential they just need to put it all together.
Man UNLEASH CAM!!!!!!!! Most improved of the year.
As of today, I will start Ben, with Thomas, Walker, Dodo and Gilles. SECOND unit Dinwidie Bridges, Royce, Watford and Sharpe, for what I seen this far I think is worth the shot, now that Claxton and Johnson are down. I’m almost sure this rotation will work good. I left Smith out because he has not showed me anything this far, Edmon Sumner showed more last year than he has. That’s my basketball educated IQ
Cam Thomas can play off the ball too! Mikals slow start has NOTHIN to do with cam. There was a lineup against Dallas with no cam T and Mikal COULD NOT SCORE. COULDNT GET PAST EVEN LUKA DONCIC.