Cam Thomas

Injury Notes: Strus, Embiid, Suggs, Booker, Nets

December 20th, 2024 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers wing Max Strus, who initially hoped to make his season debut last Friday, is being listed as questionable for tonight’s Central Division showdown with the Bucks and has a chance to suit up for the first time this season, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Strus sustained a hip contusion early in the preseason and was nearing a return from that injury when he sprained his right ankle during an individual workout just days before the season opener. He has been recovering from that sprain for the last two months.

“Nine weeks is a very long time,” Strus said on Thursday. “It’s been hard. There’s been definitely dark days. But this is the best team. Best vibes ever been around. These guys have made it easy and kept me involved and kept me around and made sure to reach out at times when I needed it. I’m itching to get back.”

As Fedor writes, Strus’ impending return is coming at a good time, given that the player who replaced him at small forward in the starting five – Isaac Okoro – is now sidelined with an injury of his own. Strus will be on a minutes restriction upon returning, so he may not reclaim his starting role right away, Fedor writes, but there’s excitement within the organization about how he’ll fit in head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s offense.

“It’s been fun to watch from the outside, but also frustrating that I haven’t been able to be a part of it. Hopefully sometime soon I could join the party,” Strus said. “The way we’ve played offense and scored the ball, it’s kind of everything I’ve wanted to do since I’ve been here. We struggled with that last year.”

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Sixers star Joel Embiid (sinus fracture) practiced on Wednesday and Thursday and is considered questionable to play on Friday vs. Charlotte, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The 76ers announced on Monday that Embiid would be reevaluated in one week, but it sounds like he has a good chance to return to the court before that one-week evaluation date.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs sustained an ankle injury on Thursday vs. Oklahoma City, as Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel tweets. Suggs injured the ankle late in the first half and started the third quarter, but was pulled after less than four minutes and didn’t play the rest of the night. “As he comes out in the second (half) I just saw there wasn’t a high pace,” head coach Jamahl Mosley explained. “I mean, there were moments of it but I just want to make sure he’s going to be OK for the long haul.” Orlando is already playing without forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, so the team will be hoping Suggs doesn’t have to miss much – if any – time.
[UPDATE: Suggs has been listed as probable to play on Saturday vs. Miami, per Beede.]
Suns guard Devin Booker exited Thursday’s game vs. Indiana in the third quarter with left groin tightness and didn’t return, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Booker’s status for Saturday’s game vs. Detroit remains unclear.
Nets guards Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain) and Ziaire Williams (left knee sprain) are making progress in their respective recoveries but aren’t yet cleared for contact, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez (story via Bridget Reilly of The New York Post). “They’ve been able to shoot, and that’s all they’re doing right now,” Fernandez said. “It’s step by step.” Meanwhile, Nets forward Trendon Watford was out for Thursday’s game due to left hamstring soreness — Watford missed the first 13 games of the season due to a left hamstring strain.

New York Notes: Achiuwa, Brunson, McBride, Thomas, Claxton

December 6th, 2024 at 8:19am CST by Tristan Tucker

Knicks big man Precious Achiuwa made his season debut on Thursday after missing the first 22 games of the season with a hamstring injury. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps first reported (via Twitter) that Achiuwa’s debut was dependent on how warmups went. He ended up playing 12 minutes in a blowout win over Charlotte, finishing with two points and four rebounds.

Achiuwa’s return is a boon for a Knicks team that has had its frontcourt depth depleted by injuries in the early going. Center Mitchell Robinson has yet to play this season as he deals with an ankle issue, which left Jericho Sims and Ariel Hukporti as the team’s only true bigs behind Karl-Anthony Towns until Achiuwa’s return.

The Knicks sit at 14-8, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference. They opened the season 5-6 before beginning to really click and winning nine of their last 11 games. New York made big offseason swings for both Towns and Mikal Bridges, the former coming right before the beginning of the regular season.

Adding Achiuwa should only help the team continue its climb up the standings. A part of the OG Anunoby deal last December, the former Raptor made 18 starts for New York in 2023/24 across his 49 appearances. He averaged 7.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for the Knicks.

According to the New York Post’s Peter Botte, Achiuwa received an ovation in his return.

“[The reception] means a lot to me. Obviously, New York to me is very dear to my heart,” Achiuwa said. “So just being able to go out there and hearing the crowd, it meant a lot to me. … Watching from the sideline has been very tough, but just being out there and knowing that the crowd is behind me throughout the whole process has been very reassuring.”

We have more from New York:

Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson took a hard hit in New York’s win over Charlotte on Thursday, exiting the game late in the third quarter and not reutrning, according to Newsday’s Steve Popper. It doesn’t sound like anything serious though, as the Knicks were up big late when Brunson returned to the bench and likely held him out for precautionary reasons. He was sporting a wrap on his back/ribs, but said after the game that he felt amazing.
The three-year, $13MM extension Miles McBride signed approximately one year ago is looking like a bargain for the Knicks. He became integral to the team in the second half of last season, averaging 11.0 PPG while making 36.8% of his three-point attempts in the 2024 playoffs. Through 17 games this season, McBride is averaging career highs of 11.2 PPG and 2.8 APG on a career-best shooting split of .462/.435/.909. In a subscriber-only story, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post explores what the young guard would earn if he were signing a new contract now, positing that the deal would likely be somewhere in the range of $10-12MM annually. The former West Virginia guard expressed no regrets about signing his contract when he did, though. “There are a lot of people that are out here struggling, and I’m having fun,” McBride said. “I’m playing well. I’m on a great team. I’m more than happy.”
High-scoring Nets guard Cam Thomas has missed the last five games for Brooklyn while he nurses a hamstring injury. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis, Thomas is still in the early stages of his recovery and there’s no timetable yet for his return. “I’m just doing whatever the performance team has me doing. It’s still early,” Thomas said. “I’m just doing whatever they have me doing, just a little bit here and there. But it’s all right.”
Nets center Nic Claxton — who signed to a four-year, $100MM extension last offseason — fluctuated between the bench and starting unit in the first 14 games of the season while dealing with a back injury. Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily questions whether there’s any reason to worry about Claxton, who averaged just 8.5 points per game in those first games of the season. “I think in professional sports, especially in this league, a lot of these guys play with bumps and bruises. What we need them is to believe that they’re good to go,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “And if we feel like a guy is not confident, we’re gonna let them make the decisions, I think that’s fair. If you play and you are afraid to get hurt, guess what? You’re going to get hurt. So we don’t want that for Nic or anybody in our group.” Claxton’s numbers are his lowest since becoming a starter and Kaplan suggests that he isn’t playing with the same level of explosiveness.
On the other hand, Lewis posits that Claxton is rounding into form after averaging 12.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in his last three games (all starts). “Yeah, I’m getting there, for sure. It’s taking a while, but I’m getting there,” the Nets center said.

Nets’ Cam Thomas Out 3-4 Weeks With Hamstring Strain

November 27th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Cam Thomas is expected to miss the next three-to-four weeks with a left hamstring strain, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania.

As we detailed earlier today, Thomas, who has also recently dealt with an illness and a sore back, was removed in the third quarter of Monday’s game vs. Golden State and had been ruled out for Wednesday’s contest in Phoenix due to what the team initially referred to as left hamstring soreness.

Thomas, 23, has ranked among the NBA’s scoring leaders in the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season, averaging a career-high 24.7 points to go along with 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game across 17 outings (all starts).

Perhaps most importantly, he’s scoring more efficiently than ever, knocking down 46.1% attempts from the floor and 38.9% of his three-pointers — both marks would be the best of his career.

The 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Thomas is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and will be a restricted free agent during the 2025 offseason after not coming to terms with the Nets on an extension prior to the season.

Brooklyn wants to maximize its cap flexibility next summer, so not extending Thomas early was about keeping the team’s options open and not necessarily a signal that the team doesn’t view the high-scoring guard as part of its future. Still, the belief is that the rebuilding Nets won’t make anyone on their roster untouchable at this season’s trade deadline, and one report this month suggested Thomas is “widely considered to be available.”

Even if Thomas is able to return in just three weeks, he’ll miss Brooklyn’s next eight games. A four-week absence would sideline him through Christmas and cost him 11 contests.

The Nets have a few banged-up players whose availability is in flux, so it’s hard to predict how exactly they’ll cover for Thomas’ absence, but Ziaire Williams, Shake Milton, and Keon Johnson are among the candidates for increased roles.

Confirming Charania’s report on Thomas’ diagnosis, the Nets announced that he’ll be reevaluated in three weeks and also shared updates on a few more injuries (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).

According to the team, Noah Clowney (left ankle sprain) will be reevaluated in two weeks, Jaylen Martin (right knee bone contusion) will be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks, Day’Ron Sharpe (left hamstring strain) is expected to make his season debut within the next week, and Nic Claxton (lower back injury management) has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game and is considered day-to-day.

Injury Notes: Nets, Giannis, Morant, Poole, Hayes

November 27th, 2024 at 8:14am CST by Luke Adams

There’s good news and bad news for the Nets on their latest injury report, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays. Leading scorer Cam Thomas has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Phoenix due to left hamstring soreness. Thomas, who has also dealt with an illness and a sore back as of late, was removed in the third quarter on Monday vs. Golden State to “protect him from himself,” in the words of head coach Jordi Fernandez.

Big man Noah Clowney will join Thomas on the sidelines, having been ruled out for a second straight game due to a left ankle sprain. Brooklyn has yet to provide an update on the results of an MRI Clowney underwent on his injured ankle, Lewis notes.

A banged-up Nets team could get some reinforcements soon, however. According to Lewis, Nic Claxton (lower back soreness), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), and Cameron Johnson (right ankle sprain) are all considered questionable to play on Wednesday. Claxton and Finney-Smith each missed Monday’s game, while Johnson exited in the first half.

Ben Simmons is also off the injury report after sitting out on Monday due to lower back injury management.

We have a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Originally listed as probable due to a left calf strain, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch vs. Miami on Tuesday due to swelling in his left knee, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. As Owczarski notes, Antetokounmpo had surgery on that knee during the summer of 2023.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant played on Monday for the first time since November 6, but he has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit due to a new injury, a left knee contusion, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Morant downplayed the ailment after the game on Monday: “A little knee to knee. Everybody know I get back up every time. … Quick little stinger, get out the way and just take care of it now.”
Wizards guard Jordan Poole missed a second straight game on Tuesday due to left hip flexor soreness, per the team (Twitter link). Poole had initially been listed as questionable, so it sounds as if the issue is a day-to-day one rather than one that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.
In his first game back following a two-week absence due to a right ankle sprain, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes re-aggravated that same ankle injury during the final minute of Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix. He had to be helped to the locker room, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links), who says the team plans to provide an update on Hayes on Wednesday afternoon.

Eastern Notes: Porzingis, Nets, Djurisic, McCain

November 26th, 2024 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis reclaimed his spot in the starting lineup on Monday in his return from a leg injury that had sidelined him since June and looked like his old self. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, Porzingis helped Boston secure a blowout 126-94 win over the Clippers by racking up 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocked shots in just under 23 minutes of action.

“I felt great,” Porzingis said, smiling, after the game. “It was a long rehab, and I was itching to get back out there with this team after winning a championship. It was a good beginning, good first game back.”

As Bontemps points out, while Porzingis’ ability to score around the basket and from beyond the arc will further diversify a Celtics offense that ranks third in the NBA (120.9 offensive rating), his impact on defense figures to be even more significant. Entering Monday’s game, Boston ranked 19th in the NBA in rim defense after placing first in that category last season, Bontemps notes. In Monday’s game, the club set a season high with 11 blocks.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Already shorthanded entering Monday’s matchup in Golden State, the Nets saw Cameron Johnson leave the game in the first half due to a sprained right ankle and Cam Thomas exit in the third quarter after battling a back issue. They still managed to go on a 27-6 second half run and pull out an upset victory over the Warriors, led by Dennis Schröder (17 fourth quarter points) and de facto center Ziaire Williams (19 points, 10 rebounds), as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details. “Shout out to the guys, we lost two more, but our guys stepped up, made big-time shots,” Williams said. “(Trendon Watford) made big-time shots, and it was a team effort. It was super fun out there.”
Hawks rookie Nikola Djurisic, the No. 43 overall pick in the 2024 draft, is fully recovered after undergoing foot surgery in July, according to agent Misko Raznatovic, who says (via Twitter) that the 6’7″ swingman is on track to make his G League debut on Tuesday for the College Park Skyhawks vs. the Long Island Nets. Djurisic is essentially a draft-and-stash prospect — he signed a G League contract for the 2024/25 season and Atlanta still holds his NBA rights.
The 3-13 Sixers have the NBA’s second-worst record, but No. 16 overall pick Jared McCain should be considered the Rookie of the Year frontrunner, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who makes McCain’s case for the award.

And-Ones: Playoff Format, Trade Market, All-Star Game, More

November 22nd, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Luke Adams

If the NBA expands to 32 teams in the coming years, executives for Western Conference teams are hopeful it will provide the league an opportunity to revisit the idea of seeding the playoff teams one through 16, regardless of conference, according to Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link).

Assuming Seattle and Las Vegas, the presumed frontrunners, get teams in the next round of expansion, a current Western Conference team – likely one of the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, or Pelicans – would have to move East to balance out the two conferences. Given the relative strength of the East vs. the West, those three clubs may push hard to be the one chosen, but that battle could potentially be avoided by revamping the postseason seeds, Windhorst suggests.

“It would be the right thing to do for the health of the league,” one West general manager told ESPN. “It’s not just about fairness, it’s about giving the fans the best playoff product.”

A change along those lines would require the approval of at least three-quarters of the NBA’s teams (23 of 30), as Bontemps observes, which means at least eight Eastern Conference teams would have to get on board with the idea, potentially voting against their own interests.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Bontemps and Windhorst suggest in the same ESPN story that many scouts and executives around the NBA believe the 2024/25 in-season trade market will take a while to get going. Trades this early in the season are somewhat rare anyway, and new CBA-related restrictions related to aprons and hard caps have only made deals more challenging. “We were looking at a trade concept the other day and there were three reasons the other team wouldn’t be allowed to do it,” one general manager told Windhorst. “One of the rules I didn’t even know about.”
In another Insider-only story for ESPN, Bontemps ranks all 30 NBA teams’ cores, listing each club’s top three building blocks based on both present and future value. The Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White) top the list, while the Nets (Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas) come in at No. 30.
Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic provide some additional details on the proposed changes to the NBA’s All-Star format, noting that since the league is expected to split its All-Stars into four teams, the head coaches for the top two teams in each conference (four in total) will likely be invited to All-Star weekend to coach a squad. As Vardon and Vorkunov detail, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for the players on the winning All-Star team to earn $100K, while the players on the losing team earns $25K. The NBA and NBPA need to renegotiate those figures before formally implementing the new format, which would result in three losing teams instead of just one.
In a memo sent to team officials, the NBA urged its players to take extra precautions to secure their homes in the wake of a string of burglaries affecting Bucks big man Bobby Portis and Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, among others. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has the story.

Nets Notes: Thomas, Frontcourt, Simmons, Watford

November 19th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the trade deadline is still about two-and-a-half months away, there’s already “plenty of chatter” about the Nets being one of the go-to stops for contenders seeking upgrades this season, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who says Brooklyn is expected to be “open for business” on the trade market.

As Amick writes, while veterans on expiring deals like Dennis Schröder and Bojan Bogdanovic are considered the Nets’ top trade candidates, the team is unlikely to make anyone totally untouchable. That includes leading scorer Cam Thomas, who is “widely considered to be available” after not signing a rookie scale extension with the club prior to last month’s deadline.

A source who spoke to NetsDaily downplayed the idea that the Nets would be actively looking to move Thomas, however. That source noted that the lack of extension can be attributed in large part to the team’s desire to maximize its 2025 cap flexibility and added that owner Joe Tsai is a big fan of the fourth-year guard.

Here’s more on the Nets:

With top two centers Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe on the shelf due to injuries, the Nets’ lack of size has been a glaring issue as of late, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. In one story, Lewis takes a look at how the team’s struggles in the paint and on the glass were difference-makers in Sunday’s loss to the Knicks; in another article, he explores the trickle-down effect the injuries have had on the rest of the roster, including forcing Ben Simmons to play “somewhere he’s clearly ineffective.”
After missing 13 games due to a hamstring strain, Nets forward Trendon Watford made his season debut on Sunday and was a team-high plus-four in the 10-point loss, registering four points, three assists, and three rebounds. Watford said after the game that he believes he can be a “Swiss army knife” for the Nets and is willing to play whatever role head coach Jordi Fernandez asks of him, according to Lewis. “Just being a little bit of a play-maker, doing everything,” Watford said. “I’ll get better with time and just try keeping that role I had last year, just being that guy to do a little bit everything, guard every position. So trying to be that for the team.”
The “big three” version of the Nets led by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden certainly had more talent than this season’s roster, but Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post argues that the current iteration of the team is more fun to watch, crediting Fernandez for the Nets’ relentless playing style.

Nets Notes: Marks, Thomas, Watford, Tanking

November 17th, 2024 at 10:56am CST by Arthur Hill

This was supposed to be a rebuilding — or “tanking” — year for the Nets, but general manager Sean Marks told Adam Zagoria of NJ.com that no one associated with the franchise is using the T-word. Brooklyn has been surprisingly competitive to start the season, compiling a 5-8 record and playing close games even in the losses. That spirit was on display Friday when the Nets staged a late rally to take the lead over the Knicks before losing in the final seconds.

“I think you navigate the season as it goes, and you don’t go into a season saying this is where we’re going to be, this is how it’s going to end,” Marks said. “There’s a lot of unforeseen things. … You’ve gotta give credit to these players, they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder, the coaches are doing a helluva job, so that’s exciting to see. It’s exciting to see an identity being formed and a culture being driven. So who am I to push back on that?”

Marks is more concerned with building a strong foundation under new coach Jordi Fernandez than maximizing his draft pick, but he’s also aware of the upcoming opportunity to remake the franchise. Brooklyn has stockpiled 15 first-round picks over the next seven years, including four in 2025. Duke’s Cooper Flagg is considered the top prize in next year’s draft, and Marks has already been to multiple Rutgers games to watch Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.

If the team misses out on those elite prospects because its pick isn’t high enough, Marks said he won’t be disappointed.

“Well, these guys [on the Nets] have done something really right if that’s the case,” he said, “and I love that.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Cam Thomas is eager for another shot at the Knicks today after Friday’s narrow loss, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Thomas had 43 points in that game, marking the second time he has reached the 40-point mark at Madison Square Garden in the past six months. “Yeah, he’s not afraid of the bright lights,” Fernandez said. “And I can tell you that from the first shot he took [on Friday]. … The good thing is you have another chance to do it again against the same team. They’re going to feel the same way and then he’s going to have to come back and perform again. So amazing performance by C.T., and very happy, because from the beginning, he kept us alive.”
Trendon Watford is off the Nets’ injury list and ready for his season debut, Lewis adds in a separate story. The fourth-year forward was expecting to be cleared in early November, but he experienced a setback in his recovery from a strained left hamstring. Watford re-signed with the team over the summer after averaging 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 63 games last season.
In a subscriber-only piece, Lewis examines whether the Nets have too much talent to make tanking a realistic option.

Nets Notes: Thomas, Young Players, Wilson, Arena

October 26th, 2024 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Cam Thomas wasn’t one of the 11 players from 2021’s draft class who signed a rookie scale extension prior to Monday’s deadline, but if he can consistently play like he did in the team’s regular season opener on Wednesday, he should have no problem cashing in as a restricted free agent next summer.

As Steve Lichtenstein writes on his Substack, Thomas racked up 36 points despite frequently being defended by Dyson Daniels, but it was his other contributions that were even more encouraging. The 23-year-old, viewed by critics as a one-dimensional player, filled up the box score by also contributing five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in his 34 minutes of action, and earned praise from head coach Jordi Fernandez for both his shooting efficiency and his performance on the other side of the ball.

“It was great, very efficient, shot over 50 percent from the field and from three, five rebounds,” Fernandez said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). “And I thought that his physicality defensively was there, too. He worked on both sides of the floor.”

Thomas made just 7-of-17 shots from the field in his second game of the season on Friday, but hit 3-of-5 three-pointers and once again contributed in other ways, grabbing six rebounds and handing out three assists.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Although the Nets traded away Mikal Bridges over the summer, the team didn’t fully tear down its roster, with veterans like Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schröder, and Cameron Johnson remaining in Brooklyn. Still, as Lewis writes in a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, the club is carving out plenty of minutes for its younger players in the early going this season, with Thomas, Nic Claxton, Jalen Wilson, Ziaire Williams, and Noah Clowney all part of the rotation.
While not everyone from the Nets’ current group of youngsters will be part of the team’s long-term core, Wilson recognizes that there’s an opportunity for those players to show they deserve to be in the club’s plans. “Orlando was at a point in time where they were young and they lost a lot of games,” Wilson said, referring to Brooklyn’s Friday opponent. “The same guys came back and they’re just getting better. So you see the process; we’ve just got to buy into it, continue to grind, continue to show up even when days may be tough. And that’s part of the process really.”
Fernandez is giving Wilson, who scored 16 points on Wednesday, a mandate to improve on defense and is confident the 23-year-old will show more on that end of the court. “Every time I challenge him and I tell him, he always responds,” Fernandez said, according to Lewis. “So I know J-Wil will be a very good player on both ends, a two-way player. But that’s what I’m going to demand. If I see one day that he’s not, I’m going to let him go. And that goes for everybody, too.” Wilson doesn’t have a fully guaranteed contract, so he’s still vying to earn a full-season roster spot.
BSE Global, the Nets’ parent company, announced a five-year, $100MM plan to “enhance (the) fan experience” at Barclays Center, which will include upgrading the arena entrances and installing a new state-of-the-art sound system, among other changes.
As we relayed earlier this afternoon, the Long Island Nets agreed to acquire Colin Castleton‘s returning rights from the South Bay Lakers in a deal that sent the No. 5 pick in today’s G League draft to L.A.’s affiliate, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (via Twitter)

Atlantic Notes: Bridges, Towns, Tatum, Thomas, Shead

October 23rd, 2024 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Neither of the Knicks‘ two major offseason acquisitions got off to the sort of start they were hoping for this season on Tuesday night in Boston.

While Mikal Bridges salvaged his night to some extent by making 7-of-8 shots for 16 points in the second half, he went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting in the first two quarters, didn’t grab a single rebound in his 35 minutes on the court, and was a team-worst minus-33 in his Knicks debut, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Bridges also admitted he wasn’t at his best defensively against Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who poured in 37 points.

“I definitely could have done better. I think my performance at the defensive end wasn’t that (good) for me personally, as well as our team,” Bridges said. “Me personally, I think I just could have been better, especially (against) a guy getting it and having that rhythm from the three, just getting up a little bit more (on Tatum).”

Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns had a relatively quiet night in his first game as a Knick, scoring 12 points and recording seven rebounds. The Celtics also frequently targeted him in screening actions, as Botte writes in a separate New York Post story. Like Bridges, Towns didn’t express concern about New York’s offense, but said the defense needs to be better.

“I just think that we just didn’t do enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win the game,” the four-time All-Star said. “We’ve just gotta do a better job of executing on that end. Our defensive identity is what’s gonna give us a chance to do something great. Offensively, I think we showed tonight we can score, we’ve just gotta play defense.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Ahead of Tuesday’s regular season opener, Tatum spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about what it means to have won his first title and why he believes the Celtics are well positioned to win another championship.
None of the three Nets players eligible for rookie scale extensions signed a new contract before Monday’s deadline, but that was expected, since Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams have played limited roles in their first three NBA seasons and extending Cam Thomas would’ve eaten into Brooklyn’s projected 2025 cap room. As Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays, Thomas said on Tuesday he’s not bothered by not having completed a deal, while head coach Jordi Fernandez told reporters he didn’t feel the need to discuss the guard’s contract situation with him. “Yeah, conversations have been great. I think he’s in a good place, and I didn’t see anything that I should go and talk to him about it, the way he feels,” Fernandez said. “I think he’s been great. He’s done his job, and we have a clear path and direction for what we’re trying to do.”
In an in-depth feature for Sportsnet.ca, Blake Murphy takes a closer look at what the Raptors are getting in Jamal Shead, a “high-IQ, high-motor” rookie guard who may have been overlooked this offseason as the third of four players selected by Toronto in the 2024 draft. “Jamal actually should have gone in the first round,” Kelvin Sampson, Shead’s former coach at Houston, said of the No. 45 pick. “There’s such an undervaluing of the things that he does well. … If you’re a coach, you want Jamal. All he does is win.”

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