Earl Clark Discussion: Second Wind?

Ice-Fire wrote:I'm not sure why anyone is surprised at what Clark is doing, it's not like he was selected at the 55-60th slot... during the draft... he was a lottery pick... he should at the very least be a very good role player.

Ice-Fire wrote:I'm not sure why anyone is surprised at what Clark is doing, it's not like he was selected at the 55-60th slot... during the draft... he was a lottery pick... he should at the very least be a very good role player.

Ice-Fire wrote:Perhaps Clark's game only suits MDA's system.... we should be thankful George Karl picked Clark to shoot the FT's and not Sacre.

"I think on all of Mike's teams, guys emerge as 3-point shooters that were never considered 3-point shooters before."

Lakers guard Steve Nash, speaking to ESPN.com back in November and responding to the many naysayers around the league suggesting that L.A. simply didn't have the shooters needed to provide the necessary spacing to run Mike D'Antoni's offense.

Fast-forwarding nearly three months later ...

Nash got it half right.

You really can't refer to Earl Clark as a 3-point bomber when he's attempting only one trey per game on average, but Clark has unquestionably emerged in a big way -- as Nash predicted someone would -- to rank as one of the few success stories in Lakerland this season.

How big? Clark logged all of 36 minutes in November and December before, as Nash was turning 39 this week, becoming an indispensable member of D'Antoni's frontcourt rotation.

Yet what makes Clark so unique, in comparison to others who've previously risen to prominence in D'Antoni's world, is that he doesn't sustain himself with the 3-ball like Steve Novak or even defensive ace Raja Bell did. And he certainly doesn't play with the ball in his hands a la Raymond Felton or Jeremy Lin.

Clark indeed has an underrated and multifaceted offensive game, with echoes of vintage Lamar Odom versatility and trusty range when needed, that enables him to slot in next to Dwight Howard more comfortably than Pau Gasol does. But it's as much Clark's length, athleticism and willingness to play D and scrap on the boards that has allowed him to rise to prominence without warning.

Clark, in short, is keeping the game simple and playing to his strengths. And he's making nearly half of the 3s he does take because he doesn't go hunting for them, wisely choosing to let them fly only when his feet are set.

It's an approach that makes Clark, in his fourth season, one very rare source of feel-good for a team that has been churning out seemingly endless amounts of Shaq-and-Kobe-level drama, going all the way back to that 0-8 record in the exhibition season. Surely you heard how TNT's Charles Barkley downgraded the Lakers' chances of rallying into a playoff spot from zero percent to "negative 17" percent in the wake of Gasol's foot injury and looming six-to-eight week absence as a result.

If Chuck is right, no one will be blaming Clark. After coming over with Howard from Orlando for the purposes of satisfying the salary-cap math in the four-team Dwight blockbuster last August, Clark averaged only 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in his first 19 appearances in the Lakers' lineup. In the Lakers' recent 6-1 surge before Thursday night's splat in Boston, by contrast, Clark averaged 12.4 points and 8.9 rebounds, ringing up four double-doubles.

Clark, in short, is keeping the game simple and playing to his strengths. And he's making nearly half of the 3s he does take because he doesn't go hunting for them, wisely choosing to let them fly only when his feet are set.

dwighthowardsdad wrote:Looking at J. Hill's contract & the way it was structured, IF Earl can continue to play this way, I can see the Lakers offering a 2-year 8 million dollar deal with the second year being a Team Option.

therealdeal wrote:

dwighthowardsdad wrote:Looking at J. Hill's contract & the way it was structured, IF Earl can continue to play this way, I can see the Lakers offering a 2-year 8 million dollar deal with the second year being a Team Option.

If he keeps playing the way he's been playing, he's actually worth more than that; something close to MLE. Guys who are defensive stoppers in 3 different positions and can basically average a double-double are pretty damn rare.

I need way more of what he's doing so far though. He's got to finish the season this way. And no matter what he's got to come back on a 2 year deal. Or AT WORST a 3 year deal with a Team Option on the 3rd one.

CaCHooKa Man wrote:

Mike Bresnahan ‏@Mike_Bresnahan
Earl Clark is gonna make some free-agent $$$$ this summer.