Noah Clowney shows ‘grown man’ potential in career-best Pacers dominance

ByNBAUSA


Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez was desperate for a spark during his team’s 0-7 start. He found one in the form of third-year forward Noah Clowney during the Wednesday’s 112-103 win over the Indiana Pacers. Clowney had a career-best performance in his second straight start, posting 17 points, four rebounds and one assist on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from three.

The 21-year-old showed improved ball handling, a central weakness of his game during his first two NBA seasons, and hit back-to-back timely 3-pointers to halt the Pacers’ second-half run. He helped Brooklyn’s league-worst defense hold Indiana to 17-of-47 shooting (36.2 percent) in the second half while forcing 11 turnovers.

“When he plays like this, he just looks like a grown man at 21,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “He’s focused, he can help us on the boards, he can shoot the three. He’s an all-around player. And now in back-to-back games, again, it hasn’t been perfect and there’s a lot of things he can do better, but he’s really stepped up his game and helped the team. And with his growth, his ceiling is like, we don’t even know how high who his leader is … he definitely has the grit that we’re looking for.

Clowney impressed during Monday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves while starting in place of Michael Porter Jr., who missed the game for personal reasons. However, with Porter Jr. back on Wednesday, Fernandez opted to keep Clowney in the starting unit, removing Tyrese Martin and pushing Terrence Mann into the cornerback spot.

Noah Clowney shows an improved skill set as he leads the Nets to their first win of the season

Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (21) dribbles the ball as Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson (22) defends during the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Trevor Ruszkovski – Imagn Images

As the Nets faced a depleted Pacers team, they turned in their best defensive performance of the season by a wide margin. Brooklyn’s revamped front line, Porter Jr., Clowney and Nic Clacton, are all 6 feet tall or taller, with wingspans over seven feet.

Brooklyn lost Cam Thomas in the first quarter of the game with a hamstring injury.

“It came down to defense. There were a lot of different groups that weren’t together on the floor. So we had to organize on the fly,” Porter Jr. told IES Network. “It was a relief to have Noah out there. He did a great job spacing the floor, rebounding, defending, just having size and not feeling overwhelmed on the glass or anything. It was a good look for us. And Noah came in and did what he had to do and was a big part of the win.”

Offensively, Clowney has bounced back from a poor start to the season over his last two appearances. He is averaging 16.0 points on 48/35/67 shooting in a pair of starts.

The 2023 first-round pick was extremely limited as a shot creator last season, attempting just 29.8 percent of his field goals from the inside arc and making just 41.4 percent. however, Clowney added significant muscle this offseasonand it showed on Wednesday. He was strong on the drive, routinely beating defenders out of their spots, getting two yards and finishing in the lane.

These were the main focuses of his work on the field this summer.

“The main thing was being able to get to the rim efficiently and be efficient when I get there. I think I’ve improved a lot in that aspect,” Clowney said during training camp. “(The extra weight) is going to help, because I can get to my spots where I want to go and get up two feet. Being more of a chaser when I’m driving the ball instead of trying to get around people. It’s going to help.”

Clown bullied his way into the lane and threw down a thunderous dunk through Isaiah Jackson early in the second half.

The Nets also relied on him as a creator on numerous late-game possessions. He scored, scoring late on a shot to stop a Pacers run with less than five minutes remaining and driving to Tyreese Martin for a 3-pointer that iced the game in the final minutes.

After missing half of last season with three separate ankle sprains, Clowney is trying to solidify a long-term rotation with Brooklyn. The Nets have already picked up the forward’s team option for next season. However, they have five rookie first-round picks entering the mix, including Michigan big man Danny Wolf.

Clowney will be under the microscope as general manager Sean Marks determines which players will be part of the next iteration of the team. Performances like Wednesday’s will go a long way in securing his place in the team’s rebuilding plans.

“I think I’ve been more focused (these last two games) on just playing hard and giving that effort. I think about two details at the beginning of the game, and then effort is always my third thing, these last two games. Before that, I think I was too worried about the end result and what the expectations were and what I needed to do, and that made me play fast, now I was free. and playing hard.”





2025-11-06 18:15:00

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