WASHINGTON — Leading scorer Cam Thomas was pulled from the Nets’ starting lineup, replaced by Dorian Finney-Smith.
They lost all the identical.
The move was made to interrupt their habit of slow starts, and did that.
However the Nets still fell, 110-104, to the sad Wizards.
“I’m going to only call it the way it is: Everybody wants to start out,” Thomas said. “At the tip of the day, I would like to start out, but for what the team needs, I gotta come off the bench where it’s sixth or seventh man, are available and produce energy. So [I’m] just not getting down just staying positive and keep my energy high.”
Coach Jacque Vaughn assessed the outcomes of his lineup change after the loss.
“Like I told you, before the Recent Yr, [it] would probably occur. And at the primary day out, we did have a lead at the moment. Finished the quarter even,” Vaughn said. “The numbers, they’re what they’re. That group that was previously starting … I used to be hoping that we’d have the option to be so good offensively that it might cover up a few of the holes defensively and just hadn’t, and in order that’s what forced to alter.”
Yes, the numbers were ugly.
Despite Thomas averaging a team-high 22.8 points coming in, the unit of him, Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson was one in all the least efficient within the NBA.
They were a staggering minus-66 in 140 minutes together, their minus-21.4 net rating dead last within the league of all units that had logged a minimum of 100 minutes.
But that aforementioned lineup with Finney-Smith replacing Thomas had a plus-6.7 net rating in 115 minutes.
Asked if he was comfortable along with his ever-changing role, Thomas demurred.
“Am I comfortable? At the tip of the day, I’m just doing my job, man,” he said. “So, I mean as a competitor, obviously, you would like to be on the market regular, but I’m just a part of the team. We’ve got lots of guys who could contribute at any moment. But you already know, it’s just what comes with the team at this point, so I just got to simply accept it and excel in whatever role I’m in.”
