NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney has been playing some good basketball recently now that he is getting more consistent minutes within the rotation. Now that Brooklyn is out of contention for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, the team seems to be more willing to give some of the younger players their time to shine.
“Before I went in, coach said protect the rim,” Clowney said after Saturday’s 113-103 win over the Detroit Pistons. Clowney referred to what he was told by interim head coach Kevin Ollie prior to going into the game in the third quarter when he had one of the best spurts that the fanbase has seen this season.
“It’s great to see that he trusts me to the extent to play in those late games,” Clowney said. The Nets trailed the Pistons by as many as 19 points in the contest, but Brooklyn spent most of the game chipping away at the deficit until they took the game over in the fourth quarter.
While Clowney did not start, he played 14 minutes in the second half and given the kind of run the Nets were having in the fourth quarter, Ollie finished the game instead of Dorian Finney-Smith. That is a great sign for Clowney as he approaches the end of his rookie season. “It’s just a good feeling to know that I’m trusted to play,” Clowney said.
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