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It was during a recent interview about 2 days ago, Mike Dantoni basically laid the law down, closing any chance of Earl Clark maintaining his starting position when Gasol gets back.

To compare Pau and Clark...You know if you asked me 2 years ago I would of probably laughed and pee a little from the laughter of starting someone like Clark over Gasol. I know what a devastating player Pau can be from the offensive end...

But the fact remains that Pau does not have the same versatility on the defensive end. Clark is quick enough, and big enough to guard almost every single position besides the 5. He makes people alter shots with his length and athleticism. He is extremely dangerous in transition not only because of his quickness, but because of his ball handling skills. He did play as a PG.

Gasol does not have that athleticism...he doesn't have the defense Clark brings....so we need to start asking what does he bring to the table over Clark? Offense...yes he does bring that over Clark. But passing? Clark is a great passer from what I've seen.

I do want to be a believer in Gasol. I want him to get back to that 2010 championship form. But I think Dantoni needs to consider starting Clark over Gasol, especially when playing these small ball teams like Miami for example. Against Miami you can put Clark on Lebron or Wade. That is such a huge luxury and advantage...because having both Dwight and Gasol in at the same time, hurts us big time in the transition game. With Clark in the mix it's a different story.

Why not start Clark at the 3, make MWP our backup 2 and part time 3, with Jamison taking some part time at the 3 and the 4. Make our bench start the 2nd quarter with Morris/Kobe/MWP/Jamison/D12.

Hearing this news was worse than someone pissing in my breakfast cereal. Of course our team wouldn't do the only thing that makes sense. It's just that kind of a season. Stick with what has been working and if Pau starts to provide what we need then consider putting him back in as a starter. We need consistency.

Although the last two W's were not against quality opposition I do feel some confidence building. They look like they have a little more chemistry. Dwight is operating well with a bit more space and is starting to form a nice defensive tandem with Clark.

Yeah we might have a better chance with Pau but I would rather him just miss this one so we can really test our lineup and progress against a quality ballclub.

last two wins not against quality opponents?...have you seen our record?...we should def. not be talking...we should take whatever we can get right now.. but of course..it only makes since to have pau as our backup big...but jim bus and dantoni...well the never do what's logical...

therobg125 wrote:last two wins not against quality opponents?...have you seen our record?...we should def. not be talking...

our record has nothing to do with the quality of our opponents. we just played 2 awful teams (well the bucks arent as bad as the cavs without varejao, who are like beyond terrible), there is no debating this. and the lakers definitely are not as bad as their record indicates.


also feel like i called this when i said there was no way were going to send pau to the bench 2 or so months ago.

This is horrible news.

D'Antoni sucks.

No way we go back to starting Pau at the PF. He better not come back this Heat game then.... Or u can just pencil in Bosh for +20points and 10rebs smh. I cant believe this smh!!!

Blame D'antoni all you want, I've been saying it for a while now there is no way management agrees to bring a 19 million dollar salary player like Gasol off the bench for a plethora of reasons.

1. He's not going to be content with backup center minutes that Sacre has been getting as some have suggested.

2. If he did come off the bench we'd still need to find minutes where both he and Howard share the floor, which is when our team defense blows.

3. As a high salary star player Pau feels he needs to be on the floor in crunch time(his words), which would put our worst front court defensive line up on the court when the game is on the line.


Our only hope to keep the season's playoff goals alive is to trade Gasol by the deadline, even if that means taking back pennies on the dollar.

Gasol needs to embrace his backup center roll or embrace the bench until he's traded.

There's no reason why he needs or should start over Clark. I'll take Clark shooting 1-6 over Gasol's 1-6 any day of the week, at least Clark would be putting the effort in on D.

The Hawks have suspended Josh Smith for one game and he will not play on Wednesday.
Smith was fined and suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and the Hawks are providing no other explanation. He will not play on Wednesday as a result, meaning that Zaza Pachulia could slide into the starting lineup in place of Smith. Smith was reportedly kicked out of practice on Tuesday, which led to his suspension. Larry Drew promised to shake things up, but this comes completely out of the blue. Smith has apologized in a statement and is expected to be back after his brief suspension.


Mitch pull the trigger

GAME TIME wrote:The Hawks have suspended Josh Smith for one game and he will not play on Wednesday.
Smith was fined and suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and the Hawks are providing no other explanation. He will not play on Wednesday as a result, meaning that Zaza Pachulia could slide into the starting lineup in place of Smith. Smith was reportedly kicked out of practice on Tuesday, which led to his suspension. Larry Drew promised to shake things up, but this comes completely out of the blue. Smith has apologized in a statement and is expected to be back after his brief suspension.


Mitch pull the trigger

if we give a max contract to josh smith my support for this team will effectively end immediately.

destro wrote:

GAME TIME wrote:The Hawks have suspended Josh Smith for one game and he will not play on Wednesday.
Smith was fined and suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and the Hawks are providing no other explanation. He will not play on Wednesday as a result, meaning that Zaza Pachulia could slide into the starting lineup in place of Smith. Smith was reportedly kicked out of practice on Tuesday, which led to his suspension. Larry Drew promised to shake things up, but this comes completely out of the blue. Smith has apologized in a statement and is expected to be back after his brief suspension.


Mitch pull the trigger

if we give a max contract to josh smith my support for this team will effectively end immediately.

another reason to make the trade

GAME TIME wrote:The Hawks have suspended Josh Smith for one game and he will not play on Wednesday.
Smith was fined and suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and the Hawks are providing no other explanation. He will not play on Wednesday as a result, meaning that Zaza Pachulia could slide into the starting lineup in place of Smith. Smith was reportedly kicked out of practice on Tuesday, which led to his suspension. Larry Drew promised to shake things up, but this comes completely out of the blue. Smith has apologized in a statement and is expected to be back after his brief suspension.


Mitch pull the trigger

Maybe Dwight told him to demand a trade to the Lakers.

Dwight/Clark is nasty defensively but imagine Dwight/Jsmoove.

Maybe they would bite on a Gasol/Clark for Jsmoove/Harris trade?

I would hate to lose Clark but Smoove does everything Clark does but better.

I hope he gets traded to the Slippers.

I'll reserve judgement on this after seeing whether or not D'Antoni will go through with his statements of using Pau differently and the way Pau has wanted to be used. Clark is good but if Pau is used right he's simply the better player. Then again we've already heard this multiple times this year.

Pau Gasol says he "feels better" and is "optimistic he could play vs. Miami. Will see neurologist tomorrow

Earl Clark missed today’s session with gastroenteritis. He’ll be listed as “questionable” for Thursday’s game vs Miami.

Michael Lucky wrote:I'll reserve judgement on this after seeing whether or not D'Antoni will go through with his statements of using Pau differently and the way Pau has wanted to be used. Clark is good but if Pau is used right he's simply the better player. Then again we've already heard this multiple times this year.

used right? hes putting up 12/8 on 47TS% with questionable defense. last year you could argue he wasnt being used right, this year hes bad no matter where he is and no matter what he is doing. its no longer a problem of being correctly utilized, its a problem of him not sucking dick.

he might come off the bench at first

Mark Medina @MedinaLakersNBA

Pau Gasol said he & coaching staff has talked about him coming off the bench to phase him back in the lineup

Eric Pincus @EricPincus

Pau - if he is a go for Miami - may ease in off the bench

yes, i like that, "phase him into the lineup". Now pau's fragile ego may remain unperturbed.

GAME TIME wrote:

Pau Gasol says he "feels better" and is "optimistic he could play vs. Miami. Will see neurologist tomorrow

Earl Clark missed today’s session with gastroenteritis. He’ll be listed as “questionable” for Thursday’s game vs Miami.

If they have to play Meeks on Battier that's not the end of the world.