Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney is in the midst of a breakout season for him as he’s figuring out his role for the Nets in real-time during a tough stretch. Brooklyn has not won many games this season as it’s becoming more clear by the way that they are behind most teams in terms of talent, but Clowney has been learning how to expand his game every chance he gets.
“It’s great. Trying to keep the defender honest is a big thing. They got to close out, or if they close out too far, I think I just got to work on reading what they giving me,” Clowney said after Monday’s 113-100 loss to the New York Knicks. Clowney was inserted into the starting lineup midway after the first few games as head coach Jordi Fernandez was looking for a way to shake up the rotation and Clowney has responded well.
“I think tonight they gave me a lot of shots. I shot a lot of them, 13 threes, whereas the night before, I think I got up how many? But, a lot of them weren’t great looks. They were like anticipated shots, almost,” Clowney continued. Clowney finished Monday’s loss with a couple of career-highs as he scored 31 points and shot 7-of-13 from three-point land, notching a career-high in threes made in a game as well.
Clowney, 21, has been taking advantage of the opportunity to be in the starting lineup as he is averaging 12.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 33.0% from three-point land. Clowney had a slow start to the season that had some wondering if he would be able to take the next step, but since he has gotten used to starting, his game has taken of.
So far in November, Clowney is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per contest on 43.2/36.0/77.8 shooting splits while experiencing newfound success driving to the basket. Following the loss, Clowney was clear in that he was thinking more about Brooklyn losing the game than his stats, but Clowney is well on his way to being the difference-maker between the Nets winning or losing games in the future.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Noah Clowney learning to keep NBA defenses honest
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
