Cam Thomas has been having an eventful 2023-24 season to say the least as he has seen everything from seeing his star rise after becoming a starter to seemingly becoming a fan favorite among some in the Brooklyn Nets fanbase almost overnight. Thomas has had to endure another change this season as he was assigned to come off the bench.
Going into Friday’s 110-104 loss to the Washington Wizards, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn noted that a change to the starting lineup would be coming given how the team has been playing recently. After losing to the lowly Wizards, Brooklyn has now won just two of its last nine games and those two victories came against a Detroit Pistons team that hasn’t won a game since October.
Thomas came off the bench for the first time since a 129-128 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 30, when he first returned from his ankle injury that cost him nine games. In the time since Thomas came back from his injury, there has been a lot of talk about what the starting lineup should be and how the rotations should go in order for the Nets to have the best chance of winning games.
Thomas coming off the bench on Friday didn’t change much in terms of the results as Brooklyn still lost despite arguably playing better than the Wizards in most statistical categories. Thomas put up 15 and three assists in 24 minutes off the pine in a game that seems to emphasize how much the Nets are struggling as a team right now.
Thomas was asked after the game about whether he’s comfortable with his ever-changing role and his response was interesting:
“Am I comfortable? At the end of the day, I’m just doing my job, man. So, me as a competitor, obviously, you want to be out there like steady, but it’s part of the team. We got a lot of guys who could contribute at any moment, but it’s just what comes with the team at this point. So, I just got to accept it and excel in whatever role I’m in.”
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