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After struggling to crack the Brooklyn Nets' rotation during his first two seasons, Cam Thomas has established himself as the team's lead-scoring option alongside Mikal Bridges in 2023-24. The 22-year-old is averaging 21.5 points per game on 44/37/84 shooting splits.
Much of that offensive success earlier in the season was a product of Thomas' ability to get to the free throw line. He ranked 11th in the NBA in free throw attempts through eight games, averaging 6.4 per game before being sidelined by an ankle injury. While Thomas has maintained his aggressive mindset in the second half of the year (20.0 shots per game in January), the fouls have become more difficult to come by, and he's taken notice.
“I felt like [the officiating] was pretty good in the first half of the year, but now it's a little tough,” Thomas said after attempting two free throws during the Nets' Tuesday 118-110 loss to the Boston Celtics. “You're taught to be aggressive, go to the basket, make the ref call something, but if they don't call it, there's nothing you can do. I've definitely noticed a shift in the officiating towards me for some reason, I don't know what the reason is.”
“I'm just gonna keep trying to attack, keep getting fouls, playing my game, putting pressure on the defense, trying to get to the line the best I can. But it's tough. What'd I shoot [from the line tonight], 2-for-2? I mean, as much as I go to the basket and draw contact, two free throws is crazy.”
Cam Thomas on his lack of foul calls when attacking the basket:
"I've definitely noticed a shift in officiating toward me for some reason, I don't know what the reason is… As much as I go the basket and draw contact, two free-throws is crazy." pic.twitter.com/yawYnYVstl
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 14, 2024
Thomas has seen a dip in free throw attempts over his last four games despite an uptick in drives to the basket. While he's averaged 14.5 drives during the stretch, he's attempted only 11 free throws (2.8 per game). Over 40 appearances prior, he averaged 5.0 free throws on 13.5 drives per game.
For the season, Thomas ranks 20th in the NBA in drives per game. He also ranks 11th in usage rating, ahead of players like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Trae Young and LeBron James. Despite this, the third-year guard ranks 38th in free throw attempts (4.8 per game) and 41st in fouls drawn (3.9 per game), per NBA.com Stats.
Nets: Thomas resilient vs. league-leading Celtics despite limited foul calls
While he made just one trip to the line against Boston, Thomas was able to shake off a slow start on his way to a productive night, finishing with 26 points and four assists on 10-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three.
Thomas scored seven points on 2-of-5 shooting in the first half while frequently being hunted on the other end by Boston's wing duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown. However, he bounced back in the second half, scoring 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting while nearly leading Brooklyn to a 23-point comeback.
https://streamable.com/vhbepg
Thomas' resilience against the NBA's top team garnered praise from head coach Jacque Vaughn .
“That was a good response from Cam, to not have the game turn out how he wanted it to in the first half and then being able to stay within himself and within the team concepts. He got rewarded,” Vaughn said postgame. “He continued to fight and had his teammates really pull for him to have a better half. So a lot goes to his credit, because that's more than a physical battle, that's a mental battle at that time against a really good team.”
Tuesday's loss dropped the Nets to 21-32, two and a half games back of the Atlanta Hawks for the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. The Nets will travel to Boston Wednesday for a back-to-back with the Celtics. They'll then have a week off for the All-Star break, after which Thomas and Bridges will attempt to lead a playoff push over a 28-game stretch to close the regular season.
