Noah Clowney has not set the NBA ablaze in his second season with the Nets. His 2024-25 stats, when looked at in a vacuum, suggest he has not improved much since his rookie season. But stats can be a little misleading. Clowney has already appeared in 18 games this season after playing 23 as a rookie, with most of those opportunities coming in the closing months of Brooklyn’s 2023-24 campaign. He is averaging a career-best 17.8 minutes per night. And while his shooting percentages are down compared to last season — he had an effective field goal percentage of 60.2 last season compared to 50.4 this season — his points per game have jumped from 5.8 to 7.6. Clowney was forced to miss eight straight games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 8 because of an ankle injury. He was shooting 46% from the field over an eight-game span prior to injury but had been shooting 33.3% over his first three games back. While Clowney shot just 30% from the field in Thursday’s defeat of the Toronto Raptors, he still enjoyed one of his better performances in recent weeks, finishing with 11 points and a season-high nine rebounds in 37 minutes, filling in at center after Nic Claxton was ejected for tossing the ball into the crowd early in the second quarter. The 20-year-old stepped up when the team needed him to. That is worth a gold star in Jordi Fernandez’s book. Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center, Brooklyn’s head coach praised the forward for his efforts at both ends of the court. “I think he’s growing,” Fernandez said. “He’s taking really positive steps from his shooting to his physicality. I think that his defense the other day, where he chested drives, and he used his body correctly, where in the past he’s tried, and it’s a learning process… The kid always tries, tries really hard, plays hard, wants to learn, wants to watch film, get better, and now you see the growth.” Positional versatility is the key to Clowney’s continued emergence. The more positions he can play, the longer he will be able to stay on the court. He received his second start of the season on Saturday. “One of the coaches I worked for said the more spots you can play, the more minutes you’ll be able to play,” Fernandez said. “Right now, just his versatility, yes being able to play the 5 at times, but also playing 1-4 or 2-4, that just allows him to be on the court. If he can guard 1-5, then that’s even more possibility for minutes, rebounding well, all those things… He’s really helping himself, but most importantly, helping the team.” MORE G LEAGUE FOR WHITEHEAD? The last time we saw Dariq Whitehead on the court for Brooklyn, he knocked down six 3-pointers against the Chicago Bulls and finished with a career-high 18 points. Whitehead’s time in the G League has led to significant improvement in his game. So much so that Whitehead apparently wants to continue to play with Long Island as long as possible. In a recent interview with Clutch Points’ Erik Slater at the NBA G League Winter Showcase, Whitehead revealed that he told the Nets’ front office that he would rather stay in the G League to increase his game reps. The 20-year-old has appeared in just three NBA games this season, so it is hard to argue against that logic. If playing in the G League is the best chance for him to maximize his development, then that is exactly where he should be. “For me, it’s more so playing the right way,” Whitehead told Slater. “Jordi emphasized taking the shots that I’ll take up there in Brooklyn. Obviously, everyone knows I’m a talented scorer, can score in a lot of ways, but it’s more so for me just keeping it simple. Not trying to get to stepback 3s and stuff up here and knowing when I get with Brooklyn I might not have the opportunity to get those stepback threes. It might be a lot more catch-and-shoot. So just playing the right way, the way the coaches are emphasizing, and just creating the right habits.” FINNEY-SMITH INJURED AGAIN Veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith did not play in Saturday’s game against Utah because of a left calf contusion. He entered the day listed as questionable but was later ruled out. “Yeah, I think he got hit, exactly [where] I don’t know because I haven’t watched it, but he played through it, and obviously this is a precaution,” Fernandez said. “We don’t want to take any risk with the discomfort and everything… So, next man up.” It was the ninth game Finney-Smith has missed this season. He missed four straight games from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4 because of an ankle injury.