With Cam Thomas sidelined due to a hamstring strain for the next three to four weeks, the Nets will need other young players to step up and fill the scoring void.
Insert third-year forward Noah Clowney, who came through with 19 points in Friday's 125-107 loss to the Detroit Pistons. It was Clowney's third straight 15-plus point game, as the 21-year-old has started the past three contests for head coach Jordi Fernandez.
After the game, Fernandez spoke highly of Clowney's recent stretch, while acknowledging there is still room for improvement, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
"Noah always takes positive steps. I need him to be better defensively and he knows it," Fernandez said. "His voice needs to grow, embracing the contact, they're playing with the two bigs. Whether you're the low man, whether your communication is on or off the ball, all those things.
"He's really smart, he's about the right things, he knows it. Like everybody else, need to grow into that fast. I know he will. I like his aggressiveness, how he shot the ball. Got to keep taking, like I said, positive steps."
Clowney went 5 of 13 shooting on Friday night, including 4 of 8 from three-point range with all four makes coming in the first quarter. Across his three recent starts (31 minutes per game), the Alabama product is averaging 17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent from three, and 75 percent from the foul line.
The scoring is a big jump from what he was doing off the bench across the Nets' first six games. Clowney had scored just a total of 26 points (4.3 points per game) over 20 minutes per night prior to starting the past three games.
His hot stretch has also been helpful for rookie guard Egor Demin, who assisted on three of Clowney's four triples. The No. 8 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft believes Clowney can continue being a reliable option with his strong shooting.
"I love him. I think it's really important for me, personally, and for the team, to make sure that he has this confidence to keep shooting, and everybody knows that he can shoot the ball extremely well, as he did today," Demin said.
The Nets will need Clowney to continue scoring at the rate he has as they search for their second win of the season. Brooklyn will take on the crosstown rival Knicks on Sunday evening at MSG in the first of four matchups between the Atlantic Division two teams.
