The Nets are starting to see how their young pieces fit, and one particular early-season experiment is paying dividends.
The Nets have tinkered with a big lineup that includes Nic Claxton, Ziaire Williams and Noah Clowney, and in Sunday night’s win against the Bucks, they got more out of it than they had in the first two losses.
In the Nets home opener, they played a total of 16.1 minutes together for a plus 18 in the 115-106 victory.
They also hold a plus-24.3 net rating — the best for any three-man Nets unit that has logged at least 36 minutes together.
Coming off the bench for the third consecutive game after the center suffered a hamstring injury that cost him the whole preseason, Claxton had to deal with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But the 6-foot-11 center, who had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, had the help of two 6-foot-9 young forwards Sunday.
“It’s great because Noah was committed to shoot the 3. Ziaire will let it fly. And if you look at those three guys it’s like a lot of length, size,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said after the win. “We’ve been talking about how small we’ve been, but right now, you see those three guys on the court and you’re like, wow, there’s no room. They’re flying around. Their effort has been amazing. They’re long, so very, very happy to see those guys working well together and doing the right things for the team.”
Williams recorded seven points, four rebounds and a key block on Pat Connaughton’s layup attempt at the start of the fourth quarter with the Nets nursing an 83-78 lead.
He later grabbed a defensive rebound that led to a layup from Clowney, who had 13 points and four rebounds, to take an 87-81 lead.
The trio accounted for 30 of the Nets’ points and 19 of their 47 rebounds to combat Antetokounmpo and center Brooks Lopez.
It’s a lineup that will be worth keeping an eye on for the Nets, as they look to make decisions about what is working and who is worth keeping in their rebuilding season.
The youth of the lineup is relevant as well. Clowney, the Nets’ first-round pick (21st overall) in 2023, is just 20 and in his second year in the league.
The former Stanford player gave glimpses of what he can offer at the end of last season, including putting up three games of 15 or more points to give the Nets hope for their future despite finishing 32-50 and missing the playoffs.
The Nets exercised the third-year team option for the 2025-26 season on Clowney along with Dariq Whitehead on Monday, meaning they have the right to keep both players for a fourth season on their respective contracts.
Williams, 23, is a project the Nets hope to develop after three failed seasons with the Grizzlies. The 2021 No. 10 overall pick is earning $6.1 million in the final year of his rookie contract through the 2024-25 season.
Claxton, 25, will be around long term to help the Nets develop the younger players after he inked a four-year, $97 million extension in the offseason.
Will Fernandez and the Nets be able to unlock enough in the two forwards to keep them around?
Claxton seems to think so as the grouping of the three is just in its infancy, and may be used as often against the Nuggets on Tuesday night against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.
“I didn’t get many reps with Ziaire and Noah, like training camp [and] preseason, so I’m still getting the feel for everything,” Claxton said Sunday. “Then still me and Noah, we [are] still figuring stuff out on both sides of the ball, but it’s definitely a lot, a lot of upside with us on the defensive side. And then, you know, we can also make some good things happen on the offensive end as well.”