Nets centers Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton threw a block party Wednesday night at Barclays Center. Gradey Dick, Garrett Temple and the Toronto Raptors were the guests of honor.
Starting together for first time, the intriguing frontcourt pairing of Clowney (seven) and Claxton (five) combined for 12 of Brooklyn’s 15 blocks in the team’s 106-102 defeat of Toronto. Day’Ron Sharpe chipped in two more blocks and Cam Thomas had one. Those 15 total blocks were the most ever at Barclays Center. It was also just the fourth time in franchise history where two Nets players had at least five blocks each in a game.
And there is more historical significance to Wednesday’s game. Clowney, 19, became the 12th teenager in NBA history to block seven or more shots in a game. Of those 12 teenagers, Clowney, who was selected 21st overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, is the lowest drafted player to accomplish that feat.
Clowney’s self-assessment following his monster defensive performance was as simple as it gets.
“They kept trying to lay the ball up and I kept blocking them,” Clowney said. “There isn’t much else to it.”
Nets fans desperately wanted to see their team qualify for the postseason. But if Brooklyn was still in contention, perhaps we never would have gotten the chance to see the defensive duo of Clowney and Claxton in action. While Clowney still has three years left on his rookie deal, Claxton is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. And, as Frank Isola said during Wednesday’s YES Network broadcast, there is a chance that Claxton just played his last game at Barclays Center in a Nets uniform.
Clowney and Claxton’s defensive performances against the Raptors was just a taste of how formidable the Nets’ frontcourt can be in future seasons. But does general manager Sean Marks plan to keep them together? Clowney had a defensive rating of 105.3 against Toronto and Claxton 104.5. The Raptors went 19-of-54 (35%) on two-point attempts.
“The league is not all about small-ball anymore,” Claxton said. “You see a lot of teams that have two bigs on the court, they have more size on the court, and that’s an area that we’ve really lacked in the past. So maybe that’ll be something that can fix those problems.”
Offensively, Clowney finished with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Claxton had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Both bigs are dangerous lob threats and Clowney’s blossoming ability to space the floor can complement Claxton’s efficiency at the rim well. The versatility and flexibility are there, as both bigs can play power forward or center. And their size, mobility and athleticism gives them enough tools to flourish at both ends of the court.
“Nic Claxton, we know what he does,” Dennis Schröder said. “Defensively, offensively, he’s great. Just setting screens, putting pressure on the rim… He’s just such a help for me. And, Noah as well, A guy who shoots three as well, takes the ball off the dribble, athletic. I mean, those two are just really special. And, I think when we build that chemistry over the next two, three months in the summer, everybody staying together, everybody just enjoying our time and get to know each other better as well. I think it’s going to help us a lot for the next season coming up because I think we got a lot of potential, a lot of talent in this locker room.”
Clowney has just 21 NBA games under his belt, but knows a potentially lethal frontcourt combination when he sees one.
“I think the biggest thing is figuring it out on offense,” Clowney said. “If we can figure out how to be really efficient offensively, because we know we can defensively, but if we can figure out how to do it offensively then we can be really dangerous together.”
