Nets’ Cam Thomas pulled from starting lineup, but it didn’t matter

WASHINGTON — Leading scorer Cam Thomas was pulled from the Nets’ starting lineup, replaced by Dorian Finney-Smith.

They lost all the same.

The move was made to break their habit of slow starts, and did that.

But the Nets still fell, 110-104, to the sad Wizards.

“I’m going to just call it how it is: Everybody wants to start,” Thomas said. “At the end of the day, I want to start, but for what the team needs, I gotta come off the bench where it’s sixth or seventh man, come in and bring energy. So [I’m] just not getting down just staying positive and keep my energy high.”

Coach Jacque Vaughn assessed the results of his lineup change after the loss.

Cam Thomas gets rejected by the Wizards’ Mike Muscala during the Nets’ 110-104 loss to the Wizards. Getty Images

“Like I told you, before the New Year, [it] would probably happen. And at the first time out, we did have a lead at that time. Finished the quarter even,” Vaughn said. “The numbers, they are what they are. That group that was previously starting … I was hoping that we’d be able to be so good offensively that it would cover up some of the holes defensively and just hadn’t, and so that’s what forced to change.”

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 of the least efficient in the NBA.

They were a staggering minus-66 in 140 minutes together, their minus-21.4 net rating dead last in the league of all units that had logged at least 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 with his ever-changing role, Thomas demurred.

“Am I comfortable? At the end of the day, I’m just doing my job, man,” he said. “So, I mean as a competitor, obviously, you want to be out there steady, but I’m just part of the team. We’ve got a lot of guys who could contribute at any moment. But you know, it’s just what comes with the team at this point, so I just got to accept it and excel in whatever role I’m in.”