Bulls vs. Nets Thursday NBA injury report, odds: Another 40-point game for Cam Thomas? Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith to make Brooklyn debut

Have the Brooklyn Nets already found their replacement for All-Star guard Kyrie Irving? (Replacing Kevin Durant is another story.) While it's too early to say for sure, 21-year-old Cam Thomas has been one of the big stories of the week in the NBA. He has a chance to register a fourth consecutive 40-point game when the Nets host the Bulls Thursday night. The game will also mark the debuts of Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, acquired from Dallas in the Irving trade. The Nets are -1 at Caesars Sportsbook. An over/under point total has not yet been set for Thomas.

Thomas was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of LSU by Brooklyn. He averaged 17.6 minutes per game as a rookie and was playing much less than that this season until Irving was shipped out. Thomas played 29 minutes on Saturday vs. Washington and scored 44 points off the bench. He followed with 47 points on Monday in 39 minutes against the Clippers as a starter, and then 43 points in 39 minutes on Tuesday vs. the Suns in another start.

In doing so, Thomas became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in three straight games. The previous youngest was future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, who posted five straight 40-point games in April 1997 with the 76ers. Thomas has notched 134 points in his last three games, matching Iverson for the most points scored by a player in a three-game stretch before turning 22 in NBA history.

Thomas has joined Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Kobe Bryant, Durant, James Harden, Michael Jordan, Damian Lillard, Karl Malone and Russell Westbrook as the only players to score at least 43 points in three or more straight games in the 3-point era (since 1979). A couple of days ago, Thomas was +20000 at DraftKings to win NBA Most Improved Player. Now he's +4000.

"It's great that he's getting to show what he's capable of doing. I don't think he's ever got to a position where he doubted himself. For us as a group, as an organization never doubted him. He's taken full advantage of the opportunity and producing," said Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn.

Thomas, the first Nets player to ever have three straight 40-point games since the franchise joined the NBA and first to do so in the league this season, could remain the Nets' No. 1 option with Irving in Dallas and now Durant in Phoenix. Thomas has been money from the free throw line too -- he's 36-for-40 from the charity stripe in this run.

Because the Irving trade wasn't official until Monday, there wasn't enough time for Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith to be cleared to play for the Nets, but they will tonight. It's not clear how Vaughn may use them at first. It's possible that Thomas' points total hasn't been posted yet because of the uncertainty of how he'll be used with Dinwiddie (O/U 21.5 points). It's also possible the Nets make another trade before the 3 p.m. ET deadline.

Chicago is listing leading scorer and All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan (25.9 points per game) questionable after he missed Tuesday's 104-89 loss in Memphis with right hip soreness. It's not a coincidence the Bulls had one of their worst offensive games of the year without him. Chicago also could make a trade today, with Alex Caruso reportedly a popular target for other teams. 

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