Time to play Earl Clark

statisback · Post #1 » by **statisback** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:23 pm

This guy has tons of talent. Why isnt he getting playing time? I am sure the Suns could cut minutes from Hill, Channing, and Amare and give those to Clark. What the hell is Gentry waiting for??

Post #2 » by **rsavaj** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:24 pm

Aside from his defense, I don't see what he offers us right now. He's young, he's raw, and if word on the street is to believed, he's dogging it in practice.

pidi · Post #3 » by **pidi** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:27 pm

and i don´t think he can get minutes off ama´re. he has to play the three for us and i don´t see ghill or jdud to give away some minutes.

statisback · Post #4 » by **statisback** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:43 pm

rsavaj wrote:Aside from his defense, I don't see what he offers us right now. He's young, he's raw, and if word on the street is to believed, he's dogging it in practice.

He has a decent shot and a good rebounder, and can be a great wing player on the fast break. I dont know if he isnt putting in the effort then that is a different story.

hunterxaz · Post #5 » by **hunterxaz** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:55 pm

We don't know what he can do... Rookies don't deserve significant playtime until their 2nd year imo... especially when we're trying to win a title.

statisback · Post #6 » by **statisback** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:59 pm

hunterxaz wrote:We don't know what he can do... Rookies don't deserve significant playtime until their 2nd year imo... especially when we're trying to win a title.

Thats nice we are trying to win a title... but the fact is that there are several teams better than us. So do we really feel we can beat the Lakers? We almost beat the Nuggets on the road which is impressive but in a 7 game series they would win. I still think the Spurs are better and possibly the Mavs. At least give Clark some time so he can develop and be valuable by next season

Post #7 » by **KJ7** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:01 pm

The only reason I would consider playing Earl Clark more is if he brought something to the table that one of our other rotation players didn't. Personally I see him as a player who provides great flexibility for our bench and should be played on a "horses for courses" basis.

At the moment Dudley is playing so well you wouldn't consider giving Clark any of his mins but you might consider giving him some of Lopez's depending on the match-ups. So go with a bench frontcourt of Lou-Clark-Dudley occasionally.

hunterxaz · Post #8 » by **hunterxaz** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:06 pm

We need to send Clark to the D-League so he can "develop" there... You may be able to make the argument that Clark deserves more PT than Lopez though. Lopez has been very lame so far.

Lakers are a great team, but we can be a great team too. I want to see where we're at by All-Star, after our schedule of brutality is out of the way.

Spurs are certainly not better this year, than us, currently. I guess we'll see when we play them though. Mavs are probably on par with us right now, though I think we have a higher ceiling when it comes to getting better.

Post #9 » by **KJ7** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:19 pm

The D-Lg is useless for development ... just look at DJ Strawberry and Tucker. The quality of opposition is way too low ... he needs to play against high quality opposition to get better. What's more he has to practice doing what *we* want him to do ie. be a role player. In the D-Lg they'll throw him the ball on every possession and then when he comes back he won't see the ball until he is wide open ... you're not practicing the same skill-set.

RE: Mavs - Josh Howard's only played 5 games so I disagree ... I think their ceiling is higher. When he comes back they'll have 10 veterans in their rotation. Very flexible team ...

PHXfan85 · Post #10 » by **PHXfan85** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:38 pm

I was asking for him last night when STAT had to go out with 5 fouls and J-Duds was out with 5. Instead Lou came back in after a 30sec rest. Lou was a beast last night so it's all good, but I still think Clark could have done something in the second half against those Nugs. He could have at least allowed someone to get some decent rest.

MaryvalesFinest · Post #11 » by **MaryvalesFinest** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:20 pm

Yeah if the Suns arn't planning on playing him for whatever reason they should at least send him to the d-league so he can get some playing time otherwise this will turn into another Alando Tucker situation.

DBrimstone · Post #12 » by **DBrimstone** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:06 pm

I would have played him over Amare's 7 turnovers and no defense last night. After his 1st or 2nd turnover I thought it was obvious that Nene was going to guard him pretty well, but we just keep beating that dead horse. Amare was worthless on both sides of the court. At least Clark would have defended and rebounded a little better and passed the ball when he got it and nothing was there, unlike the black hole himself... or themselves... Amare + J-rich...

Mujahydeen · Post #13 » by **Mujahydeen** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:07 pm

Hate to say that, but Hill's inability to be effective coming of the bench makes things tough here. Clark is the best defender in this team, capable of guarding 3s and 4s and I would like to see how things work with him being a starter at small forward with Grant playing some minutes on 2 and 3. But since Hill can't contribute of the bench you have to cut Dudley's or Lou's minutes to find room for Clark while they earned their minutes on the floor.

DBrimstone · Post #14 » by **DBrimstone** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:22 pm

Mujahydeen wrote:Hate to say that, but Hill's inability to be effective coming of the bench makes things tough here. Clark is the best defender in this team, capable of guarding 3s and 4s and I would like to see how things work with him being a starter at small forward with Grant playing some minutes on 2 and 3. But since Hill can't contribute of the bench you have to cut Dudley's or Lou's minutes to find room for Clark while they earned their minutes on the floor.

Or you could just never play J-rich at all. I wouldn't complain one bit. Whoever he was guarding had their way. Afflalo made 2 or 3 open shots in the first quarter while J-Rich was guarding him. Dudley and Dragic let him make like 1 basket the rest of the game. Dudley and Dragic also guarded all the perimeter players just fine until Billups make his 3's at the end of the game, mainly because Dudley was giving him too much space... So I like your idea of putting Hill as a 2 except that it removes a three point shooter. Gosh flippin dang it... What if we start Dudley a the 2, Hill and the 3, and have Dragic be the backup combo guard and Clark as the backup 3? He does need experience, even if it's only 10 maybe 15 minutes a night to develop before we have another Tucker on our hands. Maybe if he knew he was going to play he'd practice harder. The majority of people aren't gonna bust their butt for something when they won't be rewarded for it. I'd at least try playing him a little more for like 10 games and see how he responds in practice

JohnVancouver · Post #15 » by **JohnVancouver** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:51 pm

KJ7 wrote:The D-Lg is useless for development ... just look at DJ Strawberry and Tucker. The quality of opposition is way too low ... he needs to play against high quality opposition to get better. What's more he has to practice doing what *we* want him to do ie. be a role player. In the D-Lg they'll throw him the ball on every possession and then when he comes back he won't see the ball until he is wide open ... you're not practicing the same skill-set.

RE: Mavs - Josh Howard's only played 5 games so I disagree ... I think their ceiling is higher. When he comes back they'll have 10 veterans in their rotation. Very flexible team ...

Good points about the D-League.

Also agree re: the Mavs - them and the Nuggets are who we need to aim for in terms of level of play. If we can compete with them, I'll be well pleased. I love this team but I'm not blind to their faults and to their limitations. We have our work cut out for us but we can certainly do better than anyone projected

Very disappointed in Rolo so far. EC I also expected to get more run but Duds and Lou give us so much, they deserve the time and most of the time, we need them out there.

Mr. Sun · Post #16 » by **Mr. Sun** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 1:39 am

rsavaj wrote:Aside from his defense, I don't see what he offers us right now.

I'll take defense and lack of TO's over Amare right now.

DBrimstone · Post #17 » by **DBrimstone** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 1:46 am

Mr. Sun wrote:
rsavaj wrote:Aside from his defense, I don't see what he offers us right now.

I'll take defense and lack of TO's over Amare right now.

If we played Clark instead of Amare in the 4th I think we would have won last night. All he did was turnover the ball and not defend... That + play Dragic instead of J-Rich. J-Rich did nothing offensively, at least Dragic could have defended Chauncey better. It's just sad that 30 mil is going to the 2 most inconsistent people on the team. Most of the time, the guys that get paid that much carry the team when the team isn't doing well, not the other way around.

hunterxaz · Post #18 » by **hunterxaz** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:58 pm

It's amazing you think a guy who gets literally 0 play time regularly is better than one of the best PFs in the league. We can't chance it with EC. He's unproven, and immature and doesn't work hard.

JohnVancouver · Post #19 » by **JohnVancouver** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:55 am

hunterxaz wrote:It's amazing you think a guy who gets literally 0 play time regularly is better than one of the best PFs in the league. We can't chance it with EC. He's unproven, and immature and doesn't work hard.

+1. We know gentry is good with rookies, not afraid to give them time on the floor, so if EC is not out there I trust that the coach has a reason for it.

Post #20 » by **Qwigglez** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:50 pm

Earl Clark looked lost last night against the Spurs. I'm unsure whether it was a lack of effort on his part, or if it's just a lack of chemistry from not playing enough. Also, he was put in a tough situation, going against the Spurs. Better believe Popavich was going to make Gentry regret putting EC in.
Clark just needs more time against the lower tier teams. I hope to see him play against the Wizards on Saturday. Against Portland, not so much. Also wondering if maybe he could guard Durant when we play the Thunder? I'm unsure if Dudley is quick enough to guard him.