Player Breakdowns: Ian Clark, The Hopeful Sharpshooter
By Geespn
Coming off becoming an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, the Pelicans and Ian Clark agreed on a one-year deal. Bringing him in to hopefully help a Pelicans’ bench that struggled with shooting.
Last season, the Pelicans bench shot 33 percent from the three-point line and ranked 16th in the league in three-point percentage and 21st in field goal percentage. That’s something that Ian Clark may be able to improve upon.
A 26-year-old who averaged just 15 minutes a game and a mere 7 points may not stand out to anyone, but he could be vastly important this season.
For a bench that struggled last season to score from three, Clark is much-needed reinforcements. Last season, he shot 38 percent from the three-point line and he’s a player who’s bread and butter comes off catch and shoots.
Last season, Clark thrived off three-point shooting where he did not have to dribble. Almost 50 percent of Clark’s shots came with him taking zero dribbles and he shot 42 percent from three when he did not take one dribble.
How does this help the Pelicans? It gives them better spacing and in the instances where Clark is in the lineup with either big. It gives them a wing option to pass to in the event of a double team occurring with them in the lower block or in the high post.
Ian Clark will also be able to provide a spark, especially in the fast break. He is really good at knocking down open threes off the catch and shoot in these situations.
For example:
The bad news for the Pelicans is, Clark’s numbers in limited minutes are nothing to get too excited about. The good news for the Pelicans is Clark’s per-36 minute numbers, which shows how much a player with low minutes would do per 36 minutes in a game, up his per game scoring to 17 points per game. This means if given the opportunity Clark can be a very productive bench player.
In the five games where Ian Clark played 25 minutes or more, Clark averaged 22 points per contest, including a breakout performance against the Spurs where he scored 36 points on 71 percent shooting.
Clark is a notable shooter and constantly improving but he can also use his shooting ability to draw his primary defender and knock down the floater.
Clark will thrive most when using his passing abilities with his new big men, Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins. Watch how Clark’s takes advantage of his speed on the give-and-go from Zaza Pachulia to score the easy layup.
Clark’s defense is the biggest question mark of the acquisition. Though Clark boasted a pretty good defensive rating last season, with a 103 DRTG, how much of that could be attributed to the team’s defensive success with the 2016-1017 Warriors having the second-best defensive rating? That is something that will be put to the test as Clark moves to the Pelicans, who were not as defensively stout as the Warriors last season, but were still top ten in defensive rating.
Clark has the ability to score in bunches provided he gets the minutes, with him alongside potentially the two best big men in the game he is an in an absolutely perfect situation to thrive. He will be able to do this in the same ways and sets that he thrived in during his stint in Golden State.
Clark has the potential to be a bonafide scorer, can he do it on a consistent night in and night out basis? That has yet to be seen, which is the question mark that many people will attach to his name in the upcoming season.
Next: Jordan Crawford, The Unapologetic Scorer
Regardless, Clark should provide a much-needed three-point shooter off the bench for the Pelicans, bringing in an asset that the Pelicans needed badly last season.