Nets not ready to sound alarm on Noah Clowney’s slow start

It’s been a rough first five games for Noah Clowney, at least as far as his stat line is concerned. 

Through five games, the Nets’ third-year forward has scored just 5.2 points per game and hit only 25 percent of his shots (3-for-8 from inside the 3-point arc, and 7-for-28 from outside the arc, both down from a year ago). 

But head coach Jordi Fernández isn’t ready to sound the alarm just yet on the former first-round pick who showed signs of emerging into a threat 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 as far as making things happen, [but] I’m very happy [with his play].” 

He pointed to their most recent defeat, when Clowney hit just 1 of 7 field goals against Atlanta. 

“I felt like he played very well,” Fernández said. “Just good shots didn’t go in. The shots looked really good.” 

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His message to Clowney hasn’t changed, at least on the offensive side of the ball. 

“Just keep shooting it,” Fernández said of Clowney. “Don’t overthink it.” 

But like just about everyone else on the roster, Fernández said Clowney could use some work on defense, since the Nets have gotten torched in all five of their games so far. 

“I just need him to be better defensively and he embraced it,’’ Fernández said. “Last game, he was better.” 

Overall, though, the inexperienced Nets haven’t gotten enough from the 6-foot-10 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’s a big part of doing that.” 

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Ziaire Williams, who suffered a back fracture and a contusion on a hard fall in last Sunday’s loss to the Spurs in San Antonio and hopes to be available Sunday against the 76ers in Brooklyn, is “pretty close” to returning, Fernández said after Friday’s practice in Brooklyn. 

“He’s feeling good,” the coach said. “We have to see how he reacts now, [see] how his body feels afterwards. If his body responds well, we’ll make a decision.” 

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With rookies Danny Wolf and Nolan Traore working with the team’s G League affiliate in Long Island, Fernández said the duo would be able to get more work done there than with Brooklyn. 

“The development doesn’t stop,” Fernández said. “It’s great for them now to get higher volume [and] more scrimmages” as the Nets prepare for a back-to-back at home against Philadelphia on Sunday and Minnesota on Monday.