With so much focus on developing Brooklyn’s rookies, no Nets player has developed more than Noah Clowney.
The young forward had a career-high 31 points against the Knicks on 7-for-13 shooting from 3-point range with four rebounds and three assists.
He attacked close-outs more viciously than last season and looked more confident.
“Very. Trying to be aggressive helps my teammates. Yeah, it’s really it,” Clowney said.
Noah Clowney looks to move ball during the Nets’ Nov. 24 loss to the Knicks. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The forward — at 21, still younger than rookie teammate Danny Wolf and half of this incoming draft class — has blossomed as a starter.
He’s averaging 18.1 points in his past seven games, hitting 40 percent from deep.
Ziaire Williams was a healthy scratch, dropped from the rotation altogether Monday by head coach Jordi Fernández for a disappointing lack of defense.
“It was just my decision. I wanted to challenge him with his defense,” Fernández said. “Last year, he was elite in a lot of the things that we care defensively, from ball pressure to deflections to pick-and-roll defense to defending isolations, and he was huge and I haven’t felt that energy. And then, I can go through the numbers, and they were not there. So I challenge him to do that.
“I wasn’t all the way happy with the last two games, and I just gave a chance to [Jalen Wilson], who is always being ready whether I’m playing more or less. He’s always been there for his teammates. … It’s just about giving an opportunity to somebody else to refocus, to be ready for the next opportunity. And when it comes, then just take it and sustain it and be the best defensive player on the team and one of the best in the NBA … which I believe he’s more than capable of doing.”
Ben Saraf is hurt, and both Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf have mostly toiled in the G-League.
While Traore has been seen as the most in need of seasoning, the struggling French teen has had some encouraging outings of late in Long Island.
He had 15 points, nine assists and two rebounds Monday in the G-League, after having 28 points and nine assists Saturday.
“We want to play a competitive and winning game of basketball. It starts with the habits,” Fernández said. “I know he saw the ball go in, which are things you can’t always control, but you can control taking the right shots, make the right play. He had a 9-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is very good. So all those things are positive.”
