Cam Thomas’ Playmaking a Point of Emphasis for Jordi Fernández

The Nets guard is showing improvement as a passer to start the season, but more growth is needed.

Nov 4, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) shoots a three point shot against Memphis Grizzlies center Jay Huff (30) during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets bounced back to 4-4 after an exciting 106-104 home win against the Memphis Grizzlies, with six Brooklyn players breaking into double figures. 

Cam Thomas finished with a season-low 13 points, but also a high for him this year in assists. Six of Thomas’ passes led to buckets for the Nets, and it could have been more.

“When he gets 8+ potential assists, we've won every game, and that's what we keep telling him is: when we give you the ball on the second side, explore less dribbling, more passing,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said. 

Through seven games, Thomas was third on the Nets in potential assists, as tracked by the NBA. The only players above him, logically, are the team's point guards in Ben Simmons and Dennis Schröder.

“If you have [the shot], shoot it by all means, but if not, you're very good at sharing the ball because then we all benefit from it,” Fernández added.

The 41-year-old Spaniard has continuously praised Thomas’ scoring as his “superpower,” but maintained that there is room for the former LSU guard to grow with his decision making and facilitating. Right now, Thomas is averaging a career-high 3.1 assists — but this part of his game still doesn’t come naturally to him.

There will be good nights, like on Monday against Memphis, but also rougher ones like Sunday versus the Detroit Pistons. The Nets lost that game with Thomas having two assists to three turnovers.

"I see frustration, and that's what we need to move on from,” Fernández said then. “If you’re guarded by their best defender and they’re very physical, that tells you that you’re a good player. You're not gonna be able to score every time, but you can find a way to help your team score.” 

Thomas has finished 6-for-17 from the field in Brooklyn's last two games. The Nets scorer has come up with a few big buckets already this season, relatively speaking, but he hasn’t started that well overall in terms of converting his shots. To start the season, Thomas is 19-for-62 from three (30.6%) and he is posting his lowest field goal percentage ever in the league (42.3 FG%) on his most attempts yet (19.5 FGA per game), per RealGM.

“[Sunday], CT wasn't efficient, and sometimes, when that happens, you give yourself up with cuts or you find your teammates,” Fernández said. “If you're a scorer, but they do certain things to you, then maybe it's a day that you score less, but you assist more. That's part of the growth that we all want to see."

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