It’s been a tough first five games for Noah Clowney, at least in terms of his stats.
Through five games, the Nets’ third-year forward has scored just 5.2 points per game and hit just 25 percent of his shots (3-for-8 from inside the 3-point arc, and 7-for-28 from beyond the arc, both less than a year ago).
But head coach Jordi Fernández isn’t ready to sound the alarm on the former first-round pick, who showed signs of being in danger last season.
“He had a great summer, his body looks great,” Fernández said after the team practiced in Brooklyn on Friday. “Obviously we want him to have a bigger impact when it comes to making things happen. [but] I’m very happy [with his play].”
He pointed to their most recent loss, when Clowney made just one of seven field goals against Atlanta.
“I felt like he played really well,” Fernández said. “Only good shots didn’t go in. The shots looked really good.”
His message to Clowney hasn’t changed, at least on the offensive side of the ball.
“Just keep shooting at it,” Fernández said of Clowney. “Don’t think about it too much.”
But like almost everyone else on the roster, Fernández said Clowney could use some work on defense as the Nets have been torched in all five of their games thus far.
“I just want him to be better defensively and he has embraced that. He was better last game.”
Overall, though, the inexperienced Nets haven’t gotten enough from the 6-foot-1, 21-year-old.
“We need Noah,” Fernández said. “Noah is a big presence for our team. [He has] toughness, size, shooting, rebounding [and] winning plays. We need more verticality and he plays a big role in that.”
Ziaire Williams, who suffered a broken back and a contusion after a hard fall in last Sunday’s loss to the Spurs in San Antonio and hopes to be available on Sunday against the 76ers in Brooklyn, is “pretty close” to a return, Fernández said after Friday’s practice in Brooklyn.
“He feels good,” the coach said. “We have to see how he reacts now, [see] how his body feels afterwards. If his body responds well, we will make a decision.”
With rookies Danny Wolf and Nolan Traore working with the team’s G League affiliate on Long Island, Fernández said the duo could get more work done there than in Brooklyn.
“The development does not stop,” Fernández said. “It’s great for them to get a higher volume now [and] more scrimmages” as the Nets prepare for back-to-backs at home against Philadelphia on Sunday and Minnesota on Monday.
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