Tag: Noah Clowney

Nets’ Noah Clowney being referred to as “the golden child”

Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney is being referred to as “the golden child,” according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype in a recent podcast.

The Brooklyn Nets are heading into an important offseason for their franchise following the end of a disappointing season that saw the team miss the postseason completely. As they move forward with the rest of their summer, Brooklyn can feel good knowing that one of their players is being called a special name at this point in time.

In a recent episode of the HoopsHype podcast, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Brian Lewis discussed various topics related to the Nets’ offseason and one of those topics was rookie Noah Clowney. Scotto mentioned during the conversation that “he’s been called the golden child I’ve heard from a few people.”

Clowney, 19, did not have a prolific rookie season when you compare his numbers to some of the rookies that are up for the Rookie of the Year award. However, that doesn’t mean that Clowney did not have some special moments over the course of this season as he made plenty of things happen towards the end of this year.

Clowney ended his rookie year averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 53.8% from the field and 36.4% from three-point range in just 23 games played. However, in the month of April, Clowney averaged 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 60.4% from the floor and 47.1% from deep in 29.3 minutes per contest.

Clowney being called the golden child is high praise given that he did not play much this season, but the name reflects how he has performed in some of his biggest games this season. Clowney has proved that he can play at the NBA level and next season should be a showcase of that ability for him over the course of the entire season.

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Nets’ Noah Clowney discusses playing in summer league, late-season play

After Sunday’s season-ending 107-86 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney discussed his play to end the season.

PHILADELPHIA — Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney made a big impression on Brooklyn’s fanbase with how he played towards the end of a disappointing season for the franchise. As the Nets sought to give some of the younger players like Clowney more playing time with the amount of injuries piling up, the organization saw some encouraging performances.

“We got potential,” Clowney said after Sunday’s 107-86 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers in the final game of Brooklyn’s 2023-24 season. Clowney put up 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists in the season finale to continue his strong ending to a promising rookie season in the NBA.

“We got a lot of potential and we have to unlock it,” Clowney explained of how much potential he believes that the Nets have. “Obviously no one comes and plans on having another season like this one. I think we learned from it, grew from it. But, the amount of losses we had was just too many. But, I think we learned from it, grew from it, and I think we have potential to be a much better team than I think we displayed.”

To Clowney’s point, the Nets experienced more losing this season than expected given that Brooklyn began this season with a 13-10 record that included some tough, close losses to some of the better teams in the league. However, since then, the Nets were unable to recover from a five-game losing streak that seemingly demoralized the players for the reminder of the campaign.

“It’s good for my confidence knowing I can compete at this level,” Clowney said of what he makes of his performance towards the end of the season. “Obviously I know I need to improve in various areas, but just knowing I can compete with these people.” In April, Clowney averaged 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 60.4% from the field and 47.1% from three-point land.

Going into his second season, Clowney, 19, said that he will play in the summer league for the Nets. He did not have the best performance in the summer league as he averaged just 4.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 22.6% from the field and 23.5% from deep.

“I’m just excited to hoop,” Clowney said of playing in the summer league. “I got the best job in the world, to be honest.” One of the interesting things about Clowney and Brooklyn is whether he will be playing power forward next season assuming that starting center Nic Claxton re-signs with the team in free-agency this offseason.

“I think we can be elite defensively,” Claxton explained. “I think we both have things we can work on, but specifically, defending quick guards is something we have to be better at. This summer we’re going to work toward it. And just being able to drive the ball through contact, closeouts, things like that when I’m playing on the perimeter more.”

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Nets’ Noah Clowney discusses how G League prepared him for his moment

After Wednesday’s 106-102 win over the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney spoke on how the G League prepared him to play.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney has burst onto the scene with some huge games for Brooklyn, playoff implications or not. With Clowney’s latest outing, he is not only endearing himself amongst Nets fans, but is also making history at the same time.

“They just kept trying to lay the ball up and I kept blocking them,” Clowney said after Wednesday’s 106-102 win over the Toronto Raptors. Clowney put up 10 points and seven rebounds, but where he really made his mark in this contest was with his seven blocks and he worked well in tandem with center Nic Claxton to protect the rim.

“G League was good for me, though,” Clowney said in response to whether his recent performances have been surprising him given how much time he spent with Long Island in the first half of the season. “I enjoyed it. It was good for my confidence as well. So, sometimes I wanted to be up here, but then, other times it was like, no, I know this is good for me.”

What is clear is that whatever Clowney has been doing prior to the past two weeks has prepared him for the extended minutes that he’s getting now that the Nets are not in contention for any kind of postseason play. That isn’t stopping him from sharing what he can do as long as he’s able and is on the floor in the right spot to make things happen.

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Nets’ Noah Clowney reacts to big game vs. Pistons

After Saturday’s 113-103 win over the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney reacted to his second huge outing this week.

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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Nets’ Noah Clowney details what he brings to the team moving forward

After Wednesday’s 115-111 win over the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney outlined what he brings to the Nets moving forward.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney has been one of the more-talked about players on the team due to the flashes the fanbase has seen from him throughout this season. After showing us glimpses of what he can do with enough playing time, Clowney did more than just teasing his ability.

“I think there’s a lot,” Clowney said after Wednesday’s 115-111 win over the Indiana Pacers. The Nets came into the game knowing that they had to beat the Pacers to keep their hopes of a play-in tournament berth alive and Clowney took that to heart by putting up 22 points (7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point land) and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes off the bench.

“I think I can guard,” Clowney said when asked what he can contribute to the Nets as the team moves forward. “I think I can guard. And, I think I can get better at that. I can space the floor. And, then I think next year I’m going to have a lot more I can bring to a team, even more than I do now.”

As Nets PR pointed out, not only did Clowney notch the first double-double of his young career, but he is also the youngest player in NBA history to put up 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game while playing 17 minutes or less minutes. So, it’s clear that Clowney has come a long way from where he was to begin this season and he’s still just 19 years old.

“That was like the two essentials, the two must-haves,” Clowney said as he continued explaining what he has been working on since he came into the NBA. “Rebounding and just the ability to play the right way, make winning plays.”

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Nets full injury report for Friday matchup against Bulls

Here is the full injury report for the Brooklyn Nets heading into their matchup on Friday against the Chicago Bulls.

The Brooklyn Nets have won back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of March when they beat the Atlanta Hawks on Mar. 2 for their second consecutive win over the Hawks in as many games. As they look to extend their winning streak in the hopes of passing 10th-seeded Atlanta, Brooklyn will be doing so while getting healthier.

In the Nets’ injury report for Friday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls, Noah Clowney and Dennis Smith Jr. were listed as probable. After taking a hard fall on his backside in Wednesday’s 122-119 overtime win at the Washington Wizards, Clowney is dealing with a back contusion, but is more likely to play than not.

Smith is dealing with right hip synovitis and has missed the past two games as a result. Smith’s role this season has been as the backup point guard so in his absence, the Nets have been giving more minutes to starting point guard Dennis Schroder while slotting in some minutes for guard Cam Thomas to run the point as well.

Forward Cam Johnson remains out with his left big toe sprain that has caused him to miss the past two games. For now, Brooklyn will look to give the vacated minutes to players like Jalen Wilson, Trendon Watford and Noah Clowney.

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Nets’ Kevin Ollie makes an interesting lineup change at Bucks

In Thursday’s 115-108 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie made an interesting lineup change.

The Brooklyn Nets are trying to play their way into the Eastern Conference play-in tournament and they are running out of games to make up the ground between them and the Atlanta Hawks. As such, it seems that Brooklyn is willing to try anything to turn things around, including their rotation.

Heading into Thursday’s 115-108 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets were going to be shorthanded once Dorian Finney-Smith was ruled out due to left ankle soreness. Things could have been much worse given that starting center Nic Claxton was listed as questionable due to an illness, but he was good to go by the time the game started.

What was surprising about Thursday’s game was the fact that backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, who played in every game that he was active for this season, did not step foot on the floor against the Bucks. From the looks of it, it seemed that Sharpe’s minutes went to an unlikely player: rookie first-round pick Noah Clowney. This was Sharpe’s first DNP of the season.

Clowney played 14 minutes and put up five points, four rebounds, and was a +10 during his time on the floor as he held up well against Milwaukee’s formidable frontline of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie spoke after the game about why he chose to go in that direction:

“It’s just about sacrifice and that was the conversation. I told him beforehand what I was going to do. Day’Ron’s probably not happy with it, I wouldn’t be happy with it, but I understand this is a team game and we have to be a team and I wanted to see Noah tonight and that’s what I went with.”

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Could any of the Nets be in the Rising Stars showcase next season?

Are there any of the Brooklyn Nets rookies that could be in the Rising Stars competition next season? Here’s what Nets Wire thinks.

The 2024 Panini Rising Stars game happened on Friday with Team Jalen beating Team Detlef in the Finals to win the entire competition. The showcase displayed some of the rising young talent that the NBA has to offer with the competition comprising of rookie, sophomores, and some G League players.

The Brooklyn Nets did not have any players in the showcase, but that is a representation of where the Nets are as an organization. There are no sophomores on the team and while there are three rookies, one of them, Dariq Whitehead, essentially did not play this season as he was rehabbing from his foot surgeries that he had this offseason.

Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson have had varying levels of success this season with Wilson showing how much potential he has to be a contributor within Brooklyn’s rotation already while Clowney has shown how much he has left to develop. With that being said, here’s a look at which of these three players could be a rising star in the 2024-25 season:

Nets rookie Noah Clowney reveals takeaways from career performance

Noah Clowney made only his second appearance with the Nets on Wednesday and showed why the organization selected him with the 21st pick.

Noah Clowney made only his second appearance of the season with the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday and showed why the organization selected him with the 21st pick.

Clowney produced 14 points, four rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes off the bench in a 144-122 loss at home to the Milwaukee Bucks. He went 6-of-9 from the field in his first appearance since logging two minutes in a loss to Miami on Nov. 25.

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn opted to rest most of his starters after the first quarter on the second night of a back-to-back, clearing the way for Clowney, Dariq Whitehead (two points, four rebounds, three assists) and Jalen Wilson (21 points, 10 rebounds) to log heavy minutes.

The chance to play reaffirmed what he knew: That he can play in the NBA.

“I was nervous coming in,” Clowney said. “We are playing the Bucks, and it is a good team (with) a lot of big guys. I was a little nervous coming in; I’m not going to lie. But once I got out there, it was just being comfortable and knowing that I can compete at this level.”

Clowney, along with Whitehead and Wilson, has spent the majority of the season in the G League with the Long Island Nets. With several veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, the team has kept him in the G League to log extended playing time.

He is averaging 12.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks on 56% shooting from the field in 15 appearances with Long Island. He has registered five double-doubles and ranks 11th in the G League in rebounding and 12th in blocks.

Those minutes have helped prepare him to contribute with Brooklyn.

It has been great in Long Island. I think the best way to get better at anything is reps, so I’ve been able to get consistent reps there and get comfortable with what I can do and what I need to do better. I’m trying to make sure that everything I do is translatable between the two levels.

Clowney has spent much of the season working on his offensive game. He has focused on driving with the ball and staying aggressive in games, while also keeping the team’s offensive rhythm. He has also made it a priority to keep the ball moving and find open teammates.

The three rookies proved they can play when called upon in the contest. Their playing time will likely continue to be sporadic this season, but they walked away confident they can contribute.

“I think we all feel comfortable with how we played,” Clowney said. “Obviously, we lost, but I think we learned from it. I think the biggest piece was we can compete.”

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Nets’ Noah Clowney on big game against Bucks: ‘I can compete’

Brooklyn Nets rookie Noah Clowney said a lot of minutes Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks and now knows that he can compete in the NBA.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets rookie forward Noah Clowney came into this season with a lot of promise given some of his skills and attributes. Coming into the draft, Clowney projected to be a forward who could stretch the floor while also being a mobile big that can defend the rim and on the perimeter. He showed both on Wednesday.

“I can compete, to be honest,” Clowney said after putting 14 points and four rebounds in Wednesday’s 144-122 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Thanks to the Nets pulling a controversial move by resting most of their better players despite facing a Bucks team that struggles on the road, players like Clowney were able to get extended playing time and played well. That doesn’t mean that Clowney didn’t still feel like a rookie.

“I was nervous coming in,” Clowney explained. “We’re playing the Bucks and it’s a good team. A lot of big guys, so I was a little nervous coming in. I ain’t going to lie. But, once I got out there, it’s just being comfortable and knowing that I can compete at this level.”

Clowney had some understandable struggles against a talented Bucks frontcourt rotation headlined by Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player who has won plenty of individual accolades over the past few seasons, including two MVPs. In spite of that, Clowney found a way to make an impact around the rim and had a solid game despite being unable to match the physicality of Milwaukee.

The one thing Clowney proved on Wednesday was that he can contribute when given enough time to get comfortable within the game and that should bode well for his confidence and development moving forward.

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