Clowney to be the two-way threat with the size Brooklyn has longed for. Cut to Monday night where Clowney had 10 attempts from deep, converting on 50% in the process.
This was partly due to the absence of veteran Forward Dorian Finney-Smith who missed the game with an ankle injury. Though Finney-Smith has struggled from deep early this year, the Nets needed to replace his 5.5 attempts from distance. Noah Clowney had never attempted more than four three-point attempts going back to last season.
Though Ziaire Williams received the start for the injured Finney-Smith, if the results(and volume) can live even close to what we saw Monday night, Clowney is in for an expanded role sooner than later. Noah Clowney finished the night with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Ben Simmons can still dish dimes:
Shooting? That is a discussion for another day. For this Tuesday, we take a rare occasion to praise Ben Simmons. Coach Jordi Fernandez recently decided to bring Ben Simmons off the bench. The veteran facilitator dished out 10 first-half dimes, finishing the game with a season-high 12.
Though he only attempted five shots, it did come in 22 minutes of action which represents a concerted effort to shoot more, per Jordi Fernadnez request. To go along with five rebounds and two steals, Simmons’ +8 net rating finished second on the night to Cam Thomas who finished +9 in his 33 minutes of action.
Coaches in the past have tried to push two square pegs through round holes in Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton sharing the court. Now it seems increasingly likely that Simmons will helm the bench unit, further evident by the Ziaire Williams replacement of Dorian Finney-Smith in the starting five.
If there was an opportunity to “experiment” Monday night could have been it, but Claxton and Simmons shared the floor for only the first few minutes of the second quarter before being separated for the remainder of the game.
Brooklyn can come late to win a tight game:
One thing has been perfectly clear all season - this team will make you earn every possession. While they held off the Memphis Grizzlies late back on November 4th - This win over the Pelicans required Brooklyn to close a late two-possession gap. The Nets took the lead 101-100 at the 4:38 mark on a Clowney-assisted Cam Thomas three.
From there, it was crickets(and some sloppy play both ways) until the 1:15 mark, when Cam Johnson converted a driving layup. Following a multiple-chance offensive possession for New Orleans that came up empty, Cam Thomas drained a triple with 32.2 seconds remaining. The Nets held off the Pelicans’ last push and sealed the 107-105 road victory.
Like so many moments through the first 11 games for the Jordi Fernandez-led Nets, this game represents the mentality, effort, focus and determination that this team now has. It won’t always be against a short-handed Pelicans team, and it won’t always end in a win. But Brooklyn continues to be one of the easiest teams to root for this NBA season.
