Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is facing an uphill battle as his sixth-seeded Nets are down 2-0 to the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers going back to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Thursday. Brooklyn lost Games 1 and 2 by an average margin of 16 points per contest despite the fact that Philadelphia has not played its best basketball as of yet.
One of the common themes that has doomed the Nets in both games was the inability to score on a consistent basis in the second half. In both games, Brooklyn averages 53.5 points in the first half, but just 39 points in the second half. It’s clear that Brooklyn doesn’t have enough scoring options to keep up with the rotation as it currently is.
That fact has led to questions about whether someone else should be getting minutes off the bench and inevitably, that road leads to talented scorer Cam Thomas. Thomas has been mostly out of the rotation to finish the season and he has only played four minutes in the two games against Philadelphia. However, Thomas has been effective when given the playing time.
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Vaughn appeared to give an cryptic answer about Thomas possibly playing more in this series when talking to reporters after practice on Wednesday. Vaughn gave his customary answer of not shutting down the idea, but possibly indicating that Thomas is only in the plans if he earns it.
JV on if Cam Thomas will play: “Its always at the disposal of someone not getting minutes, and so who is that? Is that Spencer? Is that Cam Johnson? Is that Mikal Bridges? Everyone is available to play it and in the wheelhouse to be prepared if their number is called.” #nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) April 19, 2023
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