Friday night, and the Brooklyn Nets are back at the Barclays Center, going against fellow tanking companions, the Chicago Bulls. With both fan bases desperately wanting to be a part of the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes going into the season, both teams have surprisingly looked respectable coming out of the gate, much to the dismay of both fan bases. Tonight, however, for better or for worse, in a competitive showcase, the Brooklyn Nets came out on top, with Nets guard Cam Thomas going off in a 120-112 victory.
Thomas started the game on a heater, scoring 13 points on 5-8 FG, creating his own shot from midrange and pulling up from 3PT. Simmons looked aggressive in the 1st quarter, being assertive in transition and dictating the pace of the game. Simmons finished the 1st quarter with 4 points and 4 assists, one of his made field goals being a cut to the rim with Thomas dishing the dime to him. It was promising to see the chemistry between Thomas and Simmons improving; Thomas ended up finishing the game with a season-high 4 assists, with 2 of them coming from finishes by Ben Simmons. One reason why the assists have decreased with Thomas in these first 6 games is because of Simmons’ inability to roll to the rim, which he was more willing to do tonight, hence the increase in Thomas’ assists.
The Nets led this game 68-60 going into halftime, due to their ability to play in transition and get easier looks at the rim. The Nets were +24 in points in the paint and +8 in fastbreak points by halftime. Defensively, the Bulls were dominant from 3PT, shooting 56% from 3PT on 25 attempts in the 1st half. Thomas finished the half with 19 points and 3 assists, with teammates being able to capitalize on his passes in addition to his scoring. In the 2nd half, the Bulls went on a run, with Nikola Vucevic dominating the undersized Nets, scoring 14 points and 7 rebounds on 6-6 FG, and the Bulls cutting the Nets’ lead down to 2 going into the 4th.
In the 4th, Thomas took over, dropping 10 points and hitting a dagger logo 3PT jump shot with less than 4 seconds on the shot clock, putting the Nets up by 9 with less than 2 minutes to go. This game was a dominant performance by the 23-year-old guard, with Thomas scoring or assisting on 41 of the Nets’ 120 points. With this win, the Nets are 3-3, slowly squashing the narratives around Cam Thomas about him not being a winning player, something Thomas commented on in his postgame interview.
With the Nets’ record being .500, many fans are rightfully concerned that this team is too good to fully bottom out. With coach Fernandez being the floor-raising head coach they expected Jacque Vaughn to be, this team is playing hard every single night. While the fears are valid, this team still has plenty of opportunity to tank throughout the season. Tonight, however, the Nets are winners!
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