After several games where it was fairly obvious the Nets needed to make a starting line-up adjustment, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn finally does what many anticipated, he sent guard Cam Thomas to the bench in favor of Dorian Finney-Smith in the starting 5. While there were several analytics based reasons for this, it is a questionable decision to send a player on the level of Cam Thomas to the bench. Despite the starting lineup change, the Nets embarrassingly lose to the 5-25 Washington Wizards, 110-104, further causing the coach to be under fire by the fans. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the Nets threw away a winnable game against the Milwaukee Bucks by resting 7-8 rotation players prior to tonight.
Despite beating the Detroit Pistons 118-112 on December 26th, Nets fans were left with a bitter taste due to fan favorite Cam Thomas not closing the game.
Despite being the Nets leading scorer, Vaughn instead opted for Dorian Finney-Smith in the closing lineup. This is not the first time JV has benched Thomas in clutch time, against the Cleveland Cavaliers on opening night, Thomas played less than 4 minutes to close the 4th quarter, Nets lost that game by 1 point.
Going back to last season, Jacque Vaughn has always had personal issues against Cam Thomas, finding reasons to berate him and keep him on the bench. Despite being the youngest player in NBA History to score 3 straight 40+ point games since Allen Iverson, Cam Thomas proceeded to get sent back to the bench; he averaged 16.8 minutes per game post All-Star break and was given 8 DNPs.
(Graphic via YES)
It did not matter how many HOF records Cam Thomas broke; Vaughn has decided that Thomas is a bench player. When Cam Thomas scored 46 points against the Sixers in the final game of the 2022-23 season, Nets lost the game by 29 points because the Nets rested all their starters and played three G-League caliber players in a tight 8-man rotation. Despite it being a scheduled loss, Vaughn went to the media and berated Thomas, claiming that his scoring does not impact winning.
(via Heavy.com)
Against the Hornets, the Nets were capable of winning the game; however, Thomas was not in the game to close, with Vaughn citing his "minutes restriction" as an excuse. However, Billy Reinhardt commented on this, stating that the Nets should have managed Thomas' minutes, so he is able to close the game.
In a close game against the Golden State Warriors, Thomas was dominant during that game, having 41 points by the final minute of the game, however Vaughn opted to let Mikal Bridges isolate for a final possession, Bridges who finished the game with 18 points on 6-17 FG blew the layup.
For the last two seasons, the Nets have been resistant to empower Cam Thomas. They prioritize veterans over him; they focus on his weaknesses rather than his strengths; they constantly find reasons to send him to the bench, and they refuse to close games with him. Many fans will argue that Cam Thomas' net rating has been poor, however this is because the Nets have never built a lineup to accommodate Thomas' weaknesses, one of which is his lack of fit next to veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who Vaughn has shown favoritism in the past. Until the Nets make a serious coaching improvement, this roster will never reach its full potential.
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