Analysts nonetheless have time to share their preseason awards predictions for all 30 NBA groups.
Final Saturday, an NBA Insider defined why a Brooklyn Nets scoring machine shall be within the working for a selected honor.
“A league-high utilization charge,” mentioned Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report. “A scoring common that climbs to 30.0 factors per sport? A number of stops mid-game to absorb the moisture whereas (Cam) Thomas, an unapologetic bucket-getter, salivates from all of the pictures he takes he will get for a Nets workforce with so few different offensive threats. Every little thing is on the desk.
“Thomas scored 22.5 factors in 31.2 minutes per sport final 12 months and was among the many prime scorers at each degree he performed, courting again to highschool. He isn’t right here to defend or cross, of us.
Primarily based on this data, Hughes believes Thomas will win the Right here Come the Buckets award with the Nets throughout the 2024-25 season.
In 66 video games with the Nets final season, Thomas averaged 22.5 factors per sport on 44.2 p.c taking pictures from the sphere and 36.4 p.c taking pictures from downtown. Thomas’ utilization charge, 30.6, has earned him a High 10 rating for the 2023-24 marketing campaign.
The all-time main scorer in Oak Hill historical past has all the time been a goalie who scores first. He scored 2,219 complete factors beneath Steve Smith at Oak Hill, led the Nike EYBL circuit as a rising senior and had 23 factors per sport in his lone season at LSU.
Whether or not he is launching threes on the run, irritating defenders with sharp stops earlier than drilling mid-range jumpers, or executing his patented left-to-right between-the-legs dribble transfer to arrange long-range bombs, Thomas is all the time seeking to put the ball within the basket.
Thomas is not probably the most environment friendly scorer within the NBA, however the 6-foot-3 offensive maestro can end with 20-plus factors within the scoring column on any given night time.
As Hughes talked about, Thomas may have one other alternative to mild up the scoreboard in 12 months 4, as his mild shall be greener than ever on a talent-starved Brooklyn workforce. Count on his utilization charge and scoring common to extend throughout the 2024-25 season.
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