Noah Clowney Exits Wednesday's Game With Knee Injury
Status alert: Noah Clowney (knee) won't return Wednesday. - @UnderdogNBA
Noah Clowney is officially done for Wednesday night with a knee injury, adding another chapter to a medical file that is starting to read like a stunt double's diary.
Underdog NBA confirmed the forward will not return to the floor. If you had the over on his rebounds or were banking on him to anchor a deep fantasy lineup, you can go ahead and tear up those tickets.
Clowney has been trying to carve out a reliable bench role this season. The 22-year-old is currently averaging 5.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in just over 21 minutes a night for Brooklyn.
The frustrating part for the Nets is that Clowney reportedly packed on 25 pounds of muscle this past offseason specifically to survive the physical grind of the NBA. He already fought through an illness earlier this year and dealt with multiple ankle issues last season that kept him sidelined for significant stretches.
Adding armor does not help much when the joints underneath keep giving out. It is the basketball equivalent of putting a reinforced steel bumper on a car with a bad transmission.
The Nets will have to lean heavier on the rest of their frontcourt rotation while they wait for the swelling to go down and the inevitable MRI results to come back. Until Brooklyn drops an official recovery timeline, consider Clowney firmly off the betting board.