Noah Clowney Stays Aggressive, But Efficiency Dips in Nets’ Second Preseason Game

In the Brooklyn Nets' first taste of preseason action this year, Noah Clowney was virtually flawless. While he and the Nets toppled over Hapoel Jerusalem in dominant fashion, his 13-point, four-rebound performance on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting alluded to an incoming breakout.

And we had good reason to believe it was Clowney's time. He put on weight this summer and was even referred to as a "grown man" by his head coach, Jordi Fernandez. Clowney's confidence carried over into the second preseason bout, albeit with a less efficient offensive showing.

In the Nets' 132-127 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Macau, China, Clowney ironically scored 13 points while grabbing four rebounds yet again, although this time, he shot 4-of-9 from the field. But the glaring aspect of his game was an evident improvement to his three-point stroke.

Now across two games, Clowney remains a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, which is actually quite headscratching if you think about it. He spent the summer bulking up to be more of a physical force inside, and instead of becoming that, granted it's preseason, Clowney appears to now be a marksman from deep.

Just as the perfect game against Hapoel Jersualem, Clowney's showing this morning shouldn't carry much weight. He's passing the eye test, without a doubt, but the fact that he's putting up numbers in exhibition games shows that the stats aren't what we should be impressed by. How the 21-year-old carries himself, however, is impressive.

The growth is obvious. All those player development sessions with Fernandez seem to be paying off—purely from a mentality standpoint. Maybe Clowney is the best example that the second-year head coach's desired identity and culture are now firmly in place.

And regarding the 44% shooting, Clowney will be fine. He'll grow into his new body and learn how to use the recently discovered strength. There's no worry there. The bigger story here is the obvious improvement to Clowney's jumper, something that was lacking in the frontcourt outside of Fanbo Zeng.

And since Zeng is still adjusting to the NBA level, Clowney could very well be viewed as the best shooter the Nets have at the four-spot—assuming Michael Porter Jr. plays the three.

We'll have to wait until the regular season starts to truly begin the Clowney-breakout hype train, but if he remains as aggressive come that time as he is currently, Brooklyn may have found their starting power forward in year two of its complete rebuild.