The Nets are set to get their leading scorer back after almost two months.
Cam Thomas, who has missed the past two dozen straight games with a strained left hamstring, has been removed from Brooklyn’s injury report.
He is slated to be available for Friday night’s game against the visiting Trail Blazers.
“We all know exactly what Cam Thomas is going to do when he gets back out there. I think all our offensive struggles will come to an end as soon as he steps foot out there,” Trendon Watford said recently. “The way he can score, it’s different. He can get to the line, manipulate the defense, he’s definitely one of the best scorers in the league. … We know what CT does. CT gets to it.”
Thomas is the Nets’ leading scorer, averaging 24.7 points.
He has met coach Jordi Fernandez’s offseason challenge to improve not only his defense but his efficiency, as well as his shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage (.503), both career highs.
“CT is day-to-day, so you guys will see him. I cannot say the exact day, but he’s done a great job,” Fernandez had said of Thomas. “He played five-on-five and looks good. Obviously, getting readjusted to a real game, it doesn’t happen right away, but [we’re] excited to have him back at some point soon.”
Apparently “soon” will come Friday vs. Portland.
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It will mark Thomas’ first live action since Jan. 2, when he scored 24 points in 21:52 of a victory at Milwaukee.
He’d poured in 25 points two games earlier in Orlando.
Thomas has appeared just twice since hurting his hamstring Nov. 25 at Golden State.
But he was cleared for full five-on-five practice last week and told The Post over the weekend that he was nearing a comeback.
“I’m all right,” Thomas told The Post. “I’m just taking it by their plan, and we’ll see.
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“Just [go] day-by-day now and see, seeing how I feel. … I’m just seeing how my body reacts, you know? Once I feel good, you know you’ll see me out there.”
The shooting guard will look for a strong finish heading into restricted free agency.
Keon Johnson has been starting essentially since Thomas’ initial injury.
The return will be a huge lift for a team suddenly in the play-in hunt.
