With Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe out, Noah Clowney will get the start at center Tuesday vs. the Clippers Ivica Zubac, a big test, as Brian Lewis writes.
Noah Clowney was a revelation at the end of last season, averaging 13.5 points, seven rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the final six games of the season, with one game of seven blocks and another of three 3-pointers.
In Summer League, he showed that wasn’t a fluke, averaging 13.8 points shooting 5-of-13 from deep to along with 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals. Jalen Wilson may have been the MVP in Las Vegas, but the 6’10” forward got rave reviews.
Now, as he prepares for his first full season in the NBA, Clowney, still one of the NBA’s youngest players is getting rave reviews as Brian Lewis reports Monday.
“Noah, he’s getting better, man. He’s getting real good,” Dorian Finney-Smith gushed of Clowney. “He’s getting real good. You know, the game is slowing down for him. That tends to happen in your second year after you get some bump. He’s shooting the ball a lot more, and with a lot more confidence. So, again, he’s going to have a great year. He’s been getting better all summer.”
“Yeah, like I said last week, his summer has been very, very good. We’re very happy [with] where he’s at right now,” new coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Obviously he’s going to play minutes in these preseason games. And he’s fighting — like all these guys are fighting — for starting spots, they’re fighting for minutes in the rotation. They’re fighting for a contract, they’re fighting for a two-way.
“So all that fight — all that competitiveness — is very important for us. And that’s what I want him to do, is keep working. Don’t settle as a kid that we expect a lot from him. And so far, his attitude, his work, everything has been excellent.”
With both Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe out for Tuesday’s preseason opener vs the Clippers in San Diego, Clowney will likely start at center. As Fernandez knows, that will be a challenge. Fernandez was the No. 2 on the Sacramento Kings bench when Claxton had his first and only start last year at the 5. Clowney got roughed up physically in a 107-77 loss to Sacramento on April 7, as Lewis notes.
Clowney had just seven points and finished minus-26, while Kings center Domantas Sabonis dominated with 18 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists and a couple of blocks. it was his welcome-to-the-NBA moment. Now, the Nets hope his added strength will give him an advantage. He’ll be going up against seven-foot, 240-pound Ivica Zubac.
“Same game, truthfully,” Clowney told Lewis. “Different players, different scout. They’ve got experience. But it’s the same game, honestly.
“A whole lot of everything,” Clowney said of what he has been working on. “But, yeah, a lot of reps. I mean, it isn’t really too much changes to my form or nothing, just small critiques. More lift in my shot sometimes. Just reps.”
For the Brooklyn Nets, a good game will be a big deal.
- Young forward continues to impress Nets with ‘game slowing down’ after first NBA taste – Brian Lewis – New York Post