NEW YORK — Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said the biggest issue with finding minutes for gifted second-year scorer Cam Thomas is that he must then take minutes away from someone else.
Vaughn tightened his rotation in Game 2, giving minutes to only eight players. Aside from the starters, only Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris and Seth Curry played bench minutes on Monday.
“It’s just always at the disposal of someone not getting minutes, and so who is that?” Vaughn said after practice at the HSS Training Facility in Industry City on Wednesday. “Is that Spencer? Is that Cam Johnson? Is that Mikal Bridges? I think everyone is available to play it and in the wheelhouse to hopefully be prepared if their number is called.”
Vaughn also addressed the idea of giving Thomas minutes after Monday’s loss in Philadelphia.
“I just thought that if we felt like we were struggling to get looks, maybe that could be an answer,” he said postgame. “But I thought we got looks, I thought they were makeable shots, and so is Cam on the back of my brain? Yes. And he knows that. Could he play when we get back to Brooklyn? Yes. But I didn’t think we were struggling to get looks, the ball just didn’t go in.”
Home-court advantage
The Nets are not taking for granted the opportunity to sleep in their own beds and get back to their normal pre-game routines as their first-round playoff series against the 76ers shifts back to Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4 this week.
Vaughn said he expects the younger role players to fare better in front of their home fans.
“I think you saw strategically, the first game we played Day’Ron Sharpe, we played big, gave him a chance to feel what the playoffs feel like,” he said. “Second game we went pretty tight with our rotation, played small. Just historically, young guys have not played well on the road just in an environment like that, so we get the chance to come home. Some of those young guys slept in their own bed, and they probably feel a little more confident playing in Game 3.”
Starting point guard Spencer Dinwiddie said home-court advantage helps most when the home team is trying to build momentum to either extend a run or break the opponent’s scoring spree.
“We do it for the fans, we do it for the community of Brooklyn,” he said. “And you know, we’re gonna need every bit of energy tomorrow night.”
No update on Simmons
Vaughn did not offer any clarity on a report that suggests embattled star Ben Simmons will not need to undergo surgery this offseason. The Nets shut Simmons down after the trade deadline after discovering a nerve impingement in his lower back.
“Just for us, he’s still in his rehab right now,” Vaughn said after Nets practice. “And good to see him today in the gym. Talk to him about the game a little bit, but he’s just going through that rehab process.”
