In the Jazz / Blazers game thread there was some discussion of Clarkson and whether he gives us anything better than Burks did. Their career stats are somewhat similar and they both can be chuckers and iso players. It was kind of an interesting point and yet they feel different to me so in the Clippers game I was watching Clarkson a little closer to see why I feel that way.
I think my main conclusion was that Clarkson almost always seemed to be in control and fairly strategic in his positioning and his drives. He might chuck up shots sometimes but generally they were shots he should be able to make. And when he goes into the paint he will stop and pull up at a spot where he can get the shot up over or around a defender and seemed to have a pretty good percentage in the paint.
I may be thinking more of the "old" Burks, because I know over time he got smarter about his shots and his drives, but in general I felt like there was very little "Houdini, hope this works or I get a foul" from Clarkson vs. what I might have seen from Burks. If he got in the paint and there wasn't a shot he was in a better position to pass.
Anyway, that's my impression with a very small sample size. It's probably biased by Clarkson having a really good game against the Clippers. I hope it continues but you never know. I'd be interested in what other people saw.
I think my main conclusion was that Clarkson almost always seemed to be in control and fairly strategic in his positioning and his drives. He might chuck up shots sometimes but generally they were shots he should be able to make. And when he goes into the paint he will stop and pull up at a spot where he can get the shot up over or around a defender and seemed to have a pretty good percentage in the paint.
I may be thinking more of the "old" Burks, because I know over time he got smarter about his shots and his drives, but in general I felt like there was very little "Houdini, hope this works or I get a foul" from Clarkson vs. what I might have seen from Burks. If he got in the paint and there wasn't a shot he was in a better position to pass.
Anyway, that's my impression with a very small sample size. It's probably biased by Clarkson having a really good game against the Clippers. I hope it continues but you never know. I'd be interested in what other people saw.