The Nets’ offense gets a boost from the expected return of Cam Thomas

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Nets have had one of the worst offenses in the NBA since losing Cam Thomas.

But they are close to getting their leading scorer back.

And they hope that with him they can get their missing offense back.

Thomas was listed as a likely player for Sunday’s game against the Magic.

The young shooting guard has missed the last 13 games due to a left hamstring strain.

Brooklyn was just 4-9 in those games, so his return can’t come a moment too soon for the struggling Nets.

“It’ll be nice if we get Cam Thomas back just to have some… a real half-court bucket, half-court scorer,” center Nic Claxton said recently about Thomas’ return. “That will be good. We miss him a lot at the moment.”

Thomas was indeed a stunner, as he averaged 24.7 points on impressive .461/.389/.866 shooting, with all but the last a career high.

And to say Brooklyn missed him is a gross understatement.

Although most bookmakers had predicted the Nets would finish with the league’s second-worst record, they came out of the gates surprisingly well thanks to a better-than-expected offense.

After a win in the then Western Conference, they were 8-10 on top of Golden State and had the eighth-best offensive rating in the league (115.0).

But Thomas was injured in that win over the Warriors, and since then Brooklyn has ranked 29th in offensive rating, second-worst at 105.5.

Without point guard Dennis Schroder running the pick-and-roll, Brooklyn was almost entirely reliant on Ben Simmons to get them in transition.

When they failed to make easy shots in transition or early on offense, they failed to score in the half court.

They don’t have players who can create something for themselves.

While small forward Cam Johnson — who missed Friday’s loss to San Antonio with a bruised right hip and is listed as likely to be traded to the Magic — has shown a newfound ability to do so, it’s not his strong suit.

But it is – and always has been – Thomas’s.

His 1.24 points per possession in isolation is the best in the league (among players who have averaged at least two ISOs in 15 games).

The sublime team right behind Thomas – Jayson Tatum’s 1.18, Kevin Durant’s 1.14 and Kyrie Irving’s 1.13 – should show how productive he has become.

And how important it is for a team that is already lacking talent.

Thomas hasn’t played since Thanksgiving and Brooklyn’s offense collapsed immediately when he left the lineup.

“Of course it’s different for everyone. There are a lot of people on the courts, but our offense is different now, so we all have to adapt. It’s part of the game. We are professionals. So it’s not easy. It’s definitely a challenge,” Claxton said. “But we will do it. And then like I said, if we get (Thomas) back, that will help.”

With Thomas listed as probable, that could happen as early as Sunday against the Magic.