Cam Thomas has been one of the players on the Brooklyn Nets that has been able to play in multiple styles on the offensive end. While the Nets have been experimenting with different ideas on how to make its defense, it seems that they may have to do something different on the offensive end.
In Thursday’s 111-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Paris Game, Thomas was one of the main reasons that the Nets were in position to possibly steal the game from the Cavaliers. Due to the collective ineptitude of Brooklyn’s offense, Cleveland was leading 60-34 with 10:23 left in the third quarter.
Thomas, who had 26 points in the game, was able to get his points through attacking the Cavaliers’ defense off the dribble once their defense stopped many of the Nets’ offensive actions through switching the pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs. From the opening tip, Brooklyn was unable to get much going on the offensive end due to how limited it seemed in terms of plays and off-ball actions.
One of the main criticisms of the Nets’ offense is the lack of movement within their offensive sets and how predictable their attack can be at times as evidenced by how many times the Cavaliers seemingly jumped ahead of screens to get some incredible steals. Thomas gave his take on what he would like to see from Brooklyn’s offense in terms of changes:
“Mainly, it’s a little bit of both (in terms of making the offense more diverse and players being better with the ball in their hands). We got to get more movement, for sure. For the guys, more peels, more screen-and-roll actions. It’s a little bit of both, but we got to get more movement on the offensive end instead of being stagnant so other teams can just load up. Cleveland was just loading up on us and that’s tough for anybody to drive against and get downhill on. So, we just got to get into more peel actions, more screen actions and just quicker actions for guys to get downhill (to) get an advantage. So, it’s a little bit of both.”
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