Noah Clowney

Nets Notes: Russell, Thomas, Clowney, Skid Ends

March 11th, 2025 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell is in his second stint with the Nets after being traded from the Lakers this season. Russell becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and is hoping to re-sign with Brooklyn, he confirmed to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

“Why wouldn’t I? I keep seeing stuff coming out. I’ll tell you. Heck yeah. I want to be wherever I’m at,” Russell said. “I’m here. I love these guys. I appreciate this, and I would love to be back.”

Russell feels he has developed a solid relationship with first-year coach Jordi Fernandez.

“I’m at the point in my career where I’m not going out and scoring 25 points every night and wowing with numbers,” he said. “It’s a point where I’m trying to gravitate towards doing it the right way, and how I can contribute to winning is my priority. (Fernandez) lets me do that. He trusts me already, so I can imagine getting to training camp for something like that and having that under my belt with the guys. I think the sky’s the limit.”

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Cam Thomas is eligible to become a restricted free agent after the season. While he’s a proven scorer, Thomas still leaves much to be desired in other aspects of his game, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Fernandez has challenged him to become more efficient and well-rounded, especially as a defender and facilitator. However, he’s still very much a work in progress. Lewis notes that Charlotte aggressively trapped Thomas during the Nets’ fourth-quarter collapse on Saturday. The fourth-year guard has also struggled to stay on the court, missing 81 games over the last three seasons due to injury.
Brooklyn snapped a seven-game losing streak by upsetting the Lakers on Monday and Noah Clowney played a big role with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds. Clowney was playing in just his second game since recovering from an ankle injury that caused him to miss 15 games. The 2023 first-round pick has been a backup at power forward, but it would behoove the organization to give him steady minutes to see if he can be their starting power forward over the long haul, Lewis suggests.
Fernandez was pleased with the effort the team put forth against one of the Western Conference’s elite teams on Monday vs. the Lakers, according to Lewis. “So happy for the guys, proud of the guys, because after losing seven in a row … it’s just good to get back to winning,” he said. “It’s a good reward for the work. And obviously, after a bad one, it’s a good feeling.”

Atlantic Notes: Sixers’ Acquisitions, Nets, Clowney, Knicks

March 6th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Sixers made moves at the deadline to get younger and more athletic, bringing in Quentin Grimes and Jared Butler before signing Lonnie Walker IV. Having lost Joel Embiid for the season, Philadelphia hasn’t become a better team as a result of its pivot to youth, but it has shown a vision for the younger players to become members of the rotation next season.

As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Grimes in particular has been a standout addition. He’s shown to be capable in either a starting or reserve role and is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 52.4% shooting from the floor in his 11 games (eight starts) with Philadelphia. He’s scored at least 30 points three times, including 44 in a win over the red-hot Warriors last weekend.

Grimes will be a restricted free agent this summer, giving the Sixers the right to match any outside offers.

As for Butler, the Sixers were excited to acquire the former two-way guard from Washington, promoting him to a standard deal quickly upon his arrival. According to Pompey, the Sixers were interested in Butler during the 2021 draft and wanted to get a closer look at him, giving up a first-round pick in the process (and getting four seconds in return).

Pompey writes Butler has shown flashes but that Jeff Dowtin, currently on a two-way deal, has taken his spot in the rotation. Butler has a team option worth $2.35MM for next season that the Sixers will decide on this summer.

Walker has also gotten a chance to play a rotation role, averaging 16.7 minutes in his first six games. Pompey writes that Walker is still getting adjusted back to the NBA after playing overseas for the first half of the season. Like Butler, Walker has a team option for next season.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets have an open roster spot after not immediately extending Killian Hayes another 10-day contract. Net Income of NetsDaily notes that Brooklyn has a cushion of $1.08MM under the luxury tax, but Cameron Johnson is likely to hit an incentive that will cut that number in half. Still, there’s value in signing a player into that approximately half-million in anticipated space. Since rest-of-season salaries are prorated, the Nets won’t have a problem adding someone on a minimum deal. Tosan Evbuomwan is one candidate for a standard deal, since he’s been a part of the rotation, but Net Income notes that Evbuomwan’s two-way deal covers two years, so there’s no real rush to promote him. The Nets could circle back to Hayes later on or sign another player from a G League team.
Nets second-year big Noah Clowney hasn’t played since Jan. 27, but it sounds as though he’s inching toward a return. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis (Twitter link), Clowney had his first five-on-five scrimmage on Thursday. Clowney is averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds this season.
The Knicks are 0-7 this season against the top three teams in the league: the Thunder, Celtics and Cavaliers. On paper, New York has a contending roster, filled with versatile defenders on the wings and stars in Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. So what’s causing the slide against the league’s best? According to ESPN’s Chris Herring, simple factors are at play. For one, while the Knicks’ offense ranks fourth in rating, they rank 28th in three-point attempt rate. “At the root of it all, it’s math,” an Eastern Conference scout said, per Herring. “They’re really efficient, and will win a ton of games. But the [three-point] volume isn’t enough to beat the Clevelands and the Bostons. Especially when you also factor in that the Knicks are [offensive] rebounding and getting to the line a lot less than last year’s team did.” Additionally, the Knicks’ defense ranks 19th in the league.

Nets Notes: Thomas, Sharpe, D-Lo, Clowney, Williams, Draft Picks

March 1st, 2025 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing nearly two months due to a left hamstring strain, the Nets‘ leading scorer, Cam Thomas, returned to action on Friday and had what he called a “decent first game back,” scoring 16 points in 21 minutes, Brian Lewis writes for The New York Post.

“Obviously, missed some shots I normally make when I’m in rhythm and playing, but it’s just the nature of being on for a while and coming back and playing first game,” said Thomas, who was 7-of-17 from the floor in the 19-point loss to Portland. “So shots, not really worried about that; that’s going to come. But it feels good to finally finish a game and have no pain. So that’s the main thing I’m pleased with. So just got to keep building and keep going.”

Thomas will be held out of the second game of Brooklyn’s back-to-back on Saturday in Detroit due to hamstring injury management, tweets Lewis. Trendon Watford, who missed time earlier this season with a hamstring injury of his own, will be inactive with the same designation.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Day’Ron Sharpe, who will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, returned to the second unit on Friday but was excellent in his first start of the season on Wednesday, racking up 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks vs. Oklahoma City. He was a +20 in 31 minutes in a game Brooklyn lost by eight points. “I’m just a beast on them boards. I don’t really think nobody can mess with me in the paint when it comes to that,” Sharpe said, according to Lewis. “Like I tell y’all every time, no matter how big, no matter how tall, its just what I do. You know what I’m saying? You’re gonna have to send three people to box me out. But I just play hard.”
D’Angelo Russell (right ankle sprain) and Noah Clowney (left ankle sprain) will remain on the shelf for Saturday’s game, which will be Russell’s fifth straight absence and a 13th consecutive missed game for Clowney. However, head coach Jordi Fernandez says both players are doing “great” and should resume practicing soon, Lewis writes for The Post. “We’ll probably talk about having them on the court at some point next week,” Fernandez said. “They’re progressing well, they’re around the group and they’ve been [helpful]. They’re great energy when we have them around. We need their presence. It’s good, because it seems like if everything goes well next week we’ll see where they’re at, and just try to keep working on that and have them get some contact and have them back on the court.”
Ziaire Williams, who had averaged 29.2 minutes per night in Brooklyn’s last 11 games entering Friday, played just 10:28 against Portland and wasn’t sure why, according to Lewis. Asked after the game if Fernandez, who has been encouraging Williams to shoot more three-pointers, pulled him early due to his unwillingness to pull the trigger more often, Williams replied, “Y’all know better than me, man. I got no idea.”
No team has more tradable first-round picks than the Nets, as RealGM details. Net Income of NetsDaily takes a closer look at what that means for the organization.

Injury Notes: Nets, Quickley, Craig, Wolves, Davis

January 31st, 2025 at 5:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The banged-up Nets, who have seven players listed as out for Saturday’s matchup with Houston, provided updates on a handful of their injured regulars on Friday, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype relays (via Twitter).

Guard Cam Thomas, who has been unavailable since January 2 due to a left hamstring strain, is expected to make his return shortly after February’s All-Star break, per the Nets. Big man Noah Clowney will also likely remain on the shelf through the All-Star break after being diagnosed with a left ankle sprain.

Forward Cameron Johnson, meanwhile, is still day-to-day with the right ankle sprain that has cost him the past four games. He won’t play on Saturday.

The injury news in Brooklyn isn’t all bad. After leaving Wednesday’s game with left hamstring tightness, center Day’Ron Sharpe isn’t on the injury report for Saturday. Neither is forward Trendon Watford, who made his return on Wednesday after missing 21 consecutive contests while recovering from a left hamstring strain.

“It was good,” Watford said of his first game back (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post). “I’m just glad to be back out there with the guys, back playing basketball. Missing 21 games, I’ve been missing it ever since I left the game in Cleveland. It was great to be back.”

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley will be active on Friday vs. the Bulls after missing eight games due to a right hip strain, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. It was the third extended injury absence of 2024/25 for Quickley, who is appearing in just his 10th game of the season and will be on a minutes restriction against Chicago, Lewenberg adds.
Bulls wing Torrey Craig will be inactive for a 15th consecutive game on Friday due to a right ankle sprain, but he appears to be nearing a return — he participated in shootaround today, per head coach Billy Donovan (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).
Timberwolves forward Julius Randle will miss his first game of the season on Saturday, having been ruled out vs. Washington due to a right groin strain, according to the team (Twitter link). However, Minnesota did pass along more positive injury news, announcing that rookie Terrence Shannon has been cleared for full-contact 5-on-5 activities and is being listed as questionable to play on Saturday (Twitter link). Shannon, who sustained a right mid-foot sprain while on a G League assignment, last saw the court for the NBA club on December 23.
According to Lakers head coach J.J. Redick, the team isn’t expecting an extended absence for Anthony Davis, who was ruled out for at least a week due to an abdominal strain. Redick is hopeful Davis will be back in action at some point next week, per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link).

Cameron Johnson Expected To Be Reevaluated Next Week

January 28th, 2025 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

Nets forward Cameron Johnson will likely miss the team’s two-game road trip in Charlotte on Wednesday and Houston on Saturday, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez, who told reporters on Monday that Johnson continues to battle a right ankle sprain that has already cost him 10 games this month.

“He’ll be reevaluated, I think, next week. He’s out right now,” Fernandez said prior to Monday’s game vs. Sacramento, per Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. “Obviously we want him to get that ankle right.”

Johnson was originally sidelined for five games due to a right ankle sprain he sustained on January 2. He returned on Jan. 14, but missed the Nets’ next two contests after that. After playing again on Jan. 19 and 21, he went back on the inactive list for Brooklyn’s past three games. Fernandez suggested on Monday that when Johnson returns, the Nets want it to be for good.

“He was good when he came back, it’s just like he tweaked it again twice. And again, it’s unlucky, but we just want to make sure that now it’s strong enough that he’ll be able to play through things and he’s 100 percent,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, we want him back. We love having Cam Johnson, because you guys know his leadership and also the impact he has for us, but right now this is the situation that we have to deal with.”

A week-to-week injury for a player on a 14-33 team clearly headed for the draft lottery isn’t typically the sort of story we’d monitor too closely, but Johnson is considered one of the NBA’s top trade candidates ahead of next Thursday’s deadline. After this week, the Nets only have two more games before that Feb. 6 deadline arrives — next Tuesday vs. Houston and Wednesday vs. Washington.

While it’s possible Johnson will make it back for one or both of those games, it also wouldn’t be a shock if Brooklyn plays it safe and holds its second-leading scorer out a little longer so as not to risk another setback while the club is discussing potential trades.

The Nets’ asking price for Johnson – who is under contract through 2026/27 – is said to be high, with the front office reportedly seeking multiple first-round picks. If potential trade partners aren’t fully confident about Johnson’s health, it would compromise Brooklyn’s ability to try to extract that sort of return.

In other Nets injury news, big man Noah Clowney exited Monday’s loss in the second quarter due to what appeared to be a left ankle injury and didn’t return, Reilly notes. Clowney had to be helped off the floor by the training staff.

Additionally, Brooklyn’s top scorer Cam Thomas, who has been out since January 2 with a left hamstring strain, will undergo scans on Wednesday, with the team expected to provide an update following those tests, Reilly writes.

Nets Notes: Durant, Johnson, Clowney, Watford, Williams

January 23rd, 2025 at 9:15pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Ahead of the Suns‘ game in Brooklyn on Wednesday, former Nets star Kevin Durant reflected on his time with the organization. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis, Durant said the two biggest factors for why the Nets build with Kyrie Irving and James Harden didn’t work out was the COVID-19 pandemic and injuries that kept the trio from playing together often.

“That first year when James got here halfway through the season was some of the most incredible basketball that I’ve seen, I played in,” Durant said. “But more so than anything — in the locker room, the bus rides, the plane rides, the hotels — that was the culture we were building. A lot of people didn’t get to see it, but I wish they could have. It was special.”

“You see so many fans who still remember those times and appreciate it — even though we went through a lot of dysfunction, I guess you could call it, for lack of a better term. But regardless of that, a lot of people still supported and still came out, cheered loud as hell for the game of basketball and for the Nets,” Durant said. “It was here in this borough of Brooklyn, the little brother. It was always fun being a little brother and representing the little brother in the city.”

Durant eventually requested a trade from the Nets and was moved to Phoenix at the 2023 deadline in exchange for Mikal Bridges (whom they later flipped to New York), Cameron Johnson (who is on the trade block), and several draft picks. Durant expressed positive feelings for the franchise, Lewis writes in another story.

“Definitely, I want to see this franchise do well,” Durant said. “What is it, 12 or 13 picks that they’ve got? Assets, that’s the most important thing with a rebuilding group is the assets. The product on the floor, it might be inconsistent some games. They beat us early in the season and looked great, and then you lose to the Clippers by 40 or 50 and that might not look great.

“But when you look at the big picture, you’ve got young guys that are getting experience and playing time. You’re building assets and getting future picks. And hopefully you can draft well, put the team together well. So I think they’re walking in the right direction. I think the fans definitely want to see some great basketball on the floor, and I think it’s coming for this team.”

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One could make the case that Johnson could fit in on any of the NBA’s 30 teams, making him one of the most coveted players on the trade block ahead of the deadline, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. Johnson is averaging 19.4 points per game while shooting 41.9% from three this season. As we’ve written, the Nets are thought to maintain a high asking price for Johnson.
After enjoying a hot streak from beyond the arc in late December, Noah Clowney has been misfiring on his shot in recent weeks, Lewis observes. Clowney has knocked down just 33.3% of his shots, including 30.8% of his three-point tries, in January. “The shots I was getting [lately] were not as easy as I had been getting. The shots I was getting before were a lot easier,” Clowney said. “The shots I’m getting now are still easy, though. I’ve got to go out and make some of them. It ain’t much to it.” How the second-year big man handles this adversity will be telling, Lewis opines.
Trendon Watford has missed the last 19 games for the Nets due to a hamstring injury, but it sounds like he’s inching closer to a return. According to Lewis (Twitter link), Watford is progressing well and has been cleared for contact. Meanwhile, Ziaire Williams is day-to-day with an ankle injury. A starter for 16 games, Williams missed Brooklyn’s past two contests.

New York Notes: Knicks, Injuries, Claxton, Clowney

January 11th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Knicks trailed by as many as 30 against the Thunder on Friday and were booed heading into the locker room at halftime, Andrew Crane of the New York Post writes. After winning nine games in a row, the Knicks have now lost four of their last five, including three by double figures.

As Ian Begley of SNY points out, the Knicks are 0-5 this season against the top two teams in each conference, 4-7 against the eight best teams in the league, and 9-11 against teams over .500. Still, at 25-14 and third in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are confident they have plenty of time to sort things out.

“Yeah, I think we do,” Josh Hart said. “I think at the end of the day we have to go out there and execute at a high level; we have to go out there with energy, we have to go out there with no egos. We have to go out there with no individual agendas. We have to go out there and sacrifice. I think that’s the biggest thing.

“We’re a new group. We’re still learning, figuring it out, but we can’t expect to just have talent and go out there and win games. We’ve got to lock in and compete.”

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Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart both suffered minor injuries against the Raptors and were both able to play through them, but it served as a reminder as to how pivotal health is for the contender hopefuls, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes. New York. The Knicks lost several members of their rotation to injuries near the end of a 50-win season in 2023/24 and were defeated in the second round of the playoffs.
After dealing with an injury early in the season, Nets center Nic Claxton appears to be mostly healthy, but he’s still aiming to improve on what’s proven to be a difficult season, Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily writes. Claxton’s averages of 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game are below his career rates and he’s averaging fewer than half the blocks he did two years ago. “Yeah. Just trying to keep our morale up, keep my morale up, and try to be as vocal as I can be,” Claxton said of how he’s trying to impact the team.
Second-year Nets forward Noah Clowney has showcased a three-point shot in recent weeks, making 10 across a pair of outings on Dec. 23 and 26 and knocking down five more on Wednesday. As Bridget Reilly of the New York Post notes, Clowney has taken over the starting forward position in the wake of Dorian Finney-Smith being traded away and is seizing the opportunity. “What I like to call it is I like to keep teams honest,” Clowney said. “I don’t like where teams have the ability to sag off of me because I’m a weak shooter. I feel like that hurts my team in general. So if I’m able to shoot the ball and I can keep somebody honest and keep the floor spaced for my guys to get in the lane, then that’s always been the goal. So after ‘Bama, I think I shot 29 percent at Alabama, something like that, but I knew I could shoot. I think other people knew I could shoot. Somebody took a chance, and here we are.” Clowney is shooting 37.8% from deep this year on 5.3 attempts per game.

Nets Notes: Thomas, Clowney, Leadership, Williams

December 31st, 2024 at 5:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

After starting the season with a 9-10 record, the Nets lost for the 10th time in their last 13 games on Sunday in Orlando, but there was a silver lining. As Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes, leading scorer Cam Thomas was active for the first time since November 25 and said after racking up 25 points, six assists, and six rebounds in just 25 minutes of action that he “felt great” in his return.

“Obviously a little sore, you know playing, come back and playing high intensity like that,” said Thomas, who was coming off a hamstring strain. “So I am a little sore right now, but at the end of day, I feel good. Felt great, playing out there. Just got to do the other things for game rhythm, conditioning and fatigue. Just getting all that back to where I was, but until I get back to that, I’ll feel good. Be ready. Be CT again.”

Thomas, who started each of his first 17 games of the season, came off the bench on Sunday and was on a minutes restriction — his 25 minutes were a season-low, excepting the game in which he got injured. He’ll likely face some form of minutes limit for a few more games while he works his way back to 100%.

“Some of the shots I was missing (Sunday), I don’t normally miss those,” he told reporters, including Lewis. “I think some of that is just, you know, obviously fatigue and legs, and just getting back to playing these kind of minutes with the defense, you know, keying in on it, almost, I just got to get back in the flow, in the flow of things.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Noah Clowney will rely on the lessons he learned from Dorian Finney-Smith now that his former teammate has been traded to the Lakers, Lewis states in a separate story. Clowney, who’s proving himself worthy of increased minutes by averaging 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds over the last six games, said Finney-Smith taught him to keep each game in perspective. “I got a lot of different types of advice,” Clowney said. “Just keeping a level head through it all, knowing what a long-term goal is, things like that. It’s 82 games, you know? You can’t stress over all things like that.”
Trading away Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder in the past two weeks has left a lack of veteran leadership in Brooklyn, notes Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. That was evident Sunday as the Nets couldn’t hold onto a 17-point fourth quarter lead against the Magic. “Today we just needed one more grown-up to bring the guys together and calm everybody down and execute on the defensive end and win the game,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “And it didn’t happen. So I put that on all the guys on our team that are over 23 years old, that those are our grown-ups. And if you cannot do that, then it’s just going to be tough.”
Nets wing Ziaire Williams, who has missed the team’s past 11 games due to a left knee sprain, was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice and hopes to play in one half of Brooklyn’s back-to-back set vs. Toronto on Wednesday and Milwaukee on Thursday, tweets Lewis.
Sources tell Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily that the Nets are highly motivated to use their projected $70MM in cap space this summer “if the right opportunity” comes along. Kaplan cautions against being too aggressive about spending at this stage of the rebuild and recommends tanking for another season before moving forward in the summer of 2026.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Nets Notes: Claxton, Thomas, Williams, Clowney

December 25th, 2024 at 7:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Nic Claxton cashed in as a free agent last summer, re-signing with the Nets on a four-year, $97MM+ contract. However, he isn’t meeting his own expectations thus far in 2024/25, and Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link) argues Brooklyn’s starting center isn’t living up to the team’s investment, either.

“I’m not pleased with nothing, honestly,” Claxton said. “I need to be better, more consistent.

“Everywhere: rebounding, free throws, protecting the rim, more blocks. I need to do everything better. Be more aggressive on offense. Everything.”

Claxton’s numbers are down across the board in 2024/25, with the 25-year-old averaging 9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 59.4% from the floor in 23 appearances (24.8 MPG). Last season, he averaged 11.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.1 BPG while shooting 62.9% from the field in 71 games (29.8 MPG).

In fairness, Claxton has also dealt with injuries, having missed all of preseason action with a hamstring injury and then dealing with a lower back strain which required him to receive an epidural injection. But the Nets have been more effective when he isn’t playing, which certainly isn’t what they were hoping for after giving him a big contract.

Here’s more from Brooklyn:

Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain), who played 5-on-5 on Monday, will be sidelined again on Thursday, Lewis writes for The New York Post. The Nets are eager to get their leading scorer back in the lineup — their offense has sputtered in the month he’s been out, Lewis notes. “It’ll be nice when we get Cam Thomas back just to have some … a real half-court bucket, half-court scorer,” Claxton said. “That’ll be good. We’re missing him right now a lot.”
Ziaire Williams (left knee sprain) is also nearing a return, but he’ll miss at least one more game, having been ruled out of Thursday’s matchup in Milwaukee, Lewis adds. Both Thomas and Williams will be restricted free agents next offseason if they’re tendered qualifying offers.
Noah Clowney has been playing some of his best basketball of the season after a “desultory effort” vs. Cleveland on Dec. 16 saw the second-year big man foul out with two points, two rebounds and two turnovers in 17 minutes, according to Lewis. Clowney credited an attitude adjustment for his improved play. “My main goal since the Cleveland game has been to be better energy-wise for my team,” Clowney said. “A lot of body language issues I had, and I’m trying to be an energy-giver. I feel like — I was told — [there’s] no neutral energy. It’s either bad or good. So try to give good energy. So that’s been my main goal, as far as how I play. [You] make shots sometimes, you don’t make shots sometimes. Do what you can on the defensive end. Just try to control what you can.”

New York Notes: Clowney, Simmons, Bridges, Towns, Knicks

December 21st, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Tristan Tucker

Nets center Nic Claxton was ejected from Thursday’s game against Toronto, allowing second-year forward Noah Clowney to close out the game and shine, The New York Post’s Brian Lewis writes. The 21st overall pick in 2023 recorded season highs of 37 minutes played and nine rebounds to go along with 11 points.

“His growth defensively, his physicality — obviously its multiple areas — he’s been one of our best players at going vertical, taking a charge,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “His physicality on the ball guarding a really good player like Scottie Barnes, that growth was important. That’s why I was comfortable with him playing all those minutes. … I’m very happy for him because he showed growth. That’s what it’s all about.”

Clowney is averaging 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this year and looks to be among the team’s young pillars moving forward. If forwards like Dorian Finney-Smith or Cameron Johnson are traded by February 6, Clowney may continue to see his minutes rise as the year goes on.

We have more out of New York:

The Nets‘ identity changed after Dennis Schröder was moved to the Warriors, forcing Ben Simmons and Claxton to start together, which is inhibiting spacing, Lewis writes in another story. The duo struggled together in their first post-Schröder outing, but Simmons had a solid night in the win against Toronto. “Yeah, I mean, there’s more opportunity for me now, just being at that point guard position. So just finding my ways,” Simmons said. “I’m gonna go talk to coach about some different looks and things like that that I see out there.“
Mikal Bridges started his Knicks career in a shooting slump, but he’s starting to flip the script, the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy writes. In his last eight games, Bridges is shooting 43.1% from beyond the arc on 7.3 attempts per game. “Once he started making shots, nobody said nothing [about his revamped shooting form]. Nobody is talking about how it looks now,” teammate Cameron Payne said. “So he just be locked in, man. He’s pretty good with stuff like that man. I actually applaud him for it. Because you could easily get distracted with that or get messed up in the head with it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns is playing at an MVP-level pace, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post asserts. The Knicks center was No. 6 on NBA.com’s most recent MVP ladder. Towns’ 32 points and 20 rebounds against the Timberwolves put an exclamation point on a strong start to the season, Vaccaro writes.
Five of the next seven Knicks‘ games come against teams in the bottom four of the league standings, Bondy observes. The Knicks have won seven of their last nine games and are third in the Eastern Conference at 17-10.

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