Noah Clowneys injury-riddled season leaves Nets with more questions than answers
Noah Clowney has suffered through not two, not three, but four sprained ankles in his sophomore campaign.There won’t be a fifth, as Brooklyn’s young big man has been shut down for the season.But exactly what kind of season was it? What did the 20-year-old show, and what does he still have to show the Nets?Clowney re-injured his right ankle in the final minutes of Saturday’s 115-102, come-from-behind win over Washington, a victory that proved Pyrrhic.
After a couple of left ankle sprains cost Clowney significant time earlier this season, he missed another three games in March with an injured left ankle.Now he’s sidelined again.And while the Nets, who lost 105-90 to the Timberwolves on Thursday night, are happy with him and don’t fear any chronic issues (think LaMelo Ball), the injuries have robbed Clowney of valuable developmental time for a prospect in desperate need of it.Clowney was one of the youngest rookies in last year’s class, when Brooklyn took him 21st overall, and he’s still younger than a third of the projected rookies in this June’s draft.While Clowney’s season averages of 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds — on 36/33/84 shooting splits — in 46 games are by no means poor, they represent something of a disappointment considering how he got to them.Granted, that’s because he teased such a high bar with last season’s strong finish, but he didn’t build on that.Part of what made Clowney so attractive to the Nets and others was his rare combination of potential shooting to go with his length and rim protection.
It would allow him to play better alongside starting center Nic Claxton.And Clowney averaged a solid .356 from deep through his first 36 games before going down Jan.27.
But after returning, he managed just .250 over his final nine, dealing with wrist and ankle woes.Still, when Clowney is healthy, the shot is there.Nobody in the organization questions that.
But he clearly needs to learn how better to leverage it, when to attack c...