Clarkson vs. Burks

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.

We are undefeated with Clarkson.

they're jumpers. - One thing that sticks out is how high they shoot the ball especially Clarkson.

Burks reached his ceiling under Quin. Clarkson has not.

The ball will stick less with Clarkson

Clarkson's mentality seems to more along the line of Lou Williams'.

Burks' wasn't like that with the Jazz. He always seemed to be in his own head and unable to ascend to a killer instinct with regards to his play.

Clarkson seems to have a much tighter handle and that helps him be in better control. Also, agree with the (young) Lou Williams comparison. Side bar, I can't believe that Lou Williams was never paid more than $8 million a year.

Burks shot the ball less and had lower usage. Quin has decided to unleash Clarkson and let him take whatever shots he wants whenever he wants with a long leash. Not sure Burks ever had that luxury. Having said that, Clarkson seems to be more under control, (not going to the ground so much) hasn't had the horrible turnovers that lead directly to points the other way (hopefully Clarkson doesn't start having those. The sample size is small).

Burks got to the line more and is a very good rebounder for the position and shot better from 3.

Clarkson so far has been better than Burks overall. Hopefully that continues to be the case. I'm happy that quin seems to have adapted to bench players that look to score above all else (mudiay and Clarkson). Those players have value (Lou williams, Jamaal Crawford) and quin seems to be realizing that it's ok to be a score first guy off the bench and be a bit of a chucker.

One misconception about Burks was that he was a chucker who wouldn't pass. I disproved that multiple times over the years with stats. Burks was never near the top on our team in shots per minute. He simply didn't shoot all that much. I don't think he was ever higher than 4th on the team in shots per minute.

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I prefer JC's offensive game for the reasons mentioned. Alec was a great rebounder something I don't think we will see from JC. Defensively, I guess they can compete for who is more below average.

fishonjazz said:

Burks shot the ball less and had lower usage. Quin has decided to unleash Clarkson and let him take whatever shots he wants whenever he wants with a long leash. Not sure Burks ever had that luxury. Having said that, Clarkson seems to be more under control, (not going to the ground so much) hasn't had the horrible turnovers that lead directly to points the other way (hopefully Clarkson doesn't start having those. The sample size is small).

Burks got to the line more and is a very good rebounder for the position and shot better from 3.

Clarkson so far has been better than Burks overall. Hopefully that continues to be the case. I'm happy that quin seems to have adapted to bench players that look to score above all else (mudiay and Clarkson). Those players have value (Lou williams, Jamaal Crawford) and quin seems to be realizing that it's ok to be a score first guy off the bench and be a bit of a chucker.

One misconception about Burks was that he was a chucker who wouldn't pass. I disproved that multiple times over the years with stats. Burks was never near the top on our team in shots per minute. He simply didn't shoot all that much. I don't think he was ever higher than 4th on the team in shots per minute.

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I agree with this here. I think their numbers are similar but their approaches are different. I think the thing that made AB tough was not being a chucker but the ball sticking... he would do well for a while but then he'd go back to sneaking in one or two useless dribbles when the ball was pinging around.. he might not shoot it, but the system wasn't a good fit. He didn't quite get the bench green light like JC is getting, but our bench units were actually pretty good back then... so it makes sense that now Quin may be able to tolerate it more.

The other difference I have seen is JC seems to get the ball in the paint under a little more control and is getting better looks there than AB did... 2 game samples so it may not be real.

I'm really happy for AB as he seems to have gotten in a rythymn and likely carved out a bench role somewhere in the league for the next 5-6 years. You could see how hard he was trying to fit in here and it wasn't a great system for him. I think Quin tried to make it work too. I will always be team AB but think JC might be a better (but not perfect) fit for this team.

Clarkson seems like a smart player. He may put up a volume of shots, but that’s his role. Outside of that he knows where to be, makes decisions quickly... has the intangibles to make the athletic shooting work. I think he makes those around him better.

Handlogten's Heros said:

The other difference I have seen is JC seems to get the ball in the paint under a little more control and is getting better looks there than AB did... 2 game samples so it may not be real.

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This is probably not the best way to measure this, but per NBA tracking stats Clarkson has been a fair bit better within ten feet of the basket than Burks his entire career.

JC seems to be on a higher level as far as reading the defense. This would explain one reason why it's easier for Snyder to give him leash and why he passes the eyeball test, but you can't put a finger on it. Still love me some AB.

It feels like Clarkson has a greater shooting range than Burks. I rarely thought a Burks 3 was going in. His shot was so flat. While Clarkson’s 3s seems close every time.

Zombie said:

This is probably not the best way to measure this, but per NBA tracking stats Clarkson has been a fair bit better within ten feet of the basket than Burks his entire career.

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I've only seen a couple "bad" shots... and I think some of them went in. He seems to be more under control and has the length to finish over bigger defenders. I think his 3 point shot comes and goes, but I think there was only one forced three I saw.

He's made a couple nice, but basic, passes to Rudy. So far I like what I've seen. I think he runs a nice pick and roll... but he's likely to shoot it like 80% of the time. I think his time with the LOLakers team may have made me label him a knucklehead good volume stats bad team guy. His playoffs on the Lebron team was... really rough. He might be more useful than I initially thought. I've like what Mudiay has given most nights, but there is still some scariness when he has the ball... I'm more comfy with JC at this point. I think it was a good improvement and low cost move.

Why do we insist on comparing him to a basically broken player like Burks, why not somebody like Lou Williams? Cause that’s the conversation we should be having. The players know it. Maggette was talking about how highly Kobe regarded Clarkson with the Lakers. Kevin Porter talked about how Clarkson mentored him and helped him read the defense. Mitchell talked about how Clarkson is going to make his life so much easier. The only similarity between clarkson and Burks is they’re both athletic, but Clarkson has good shot mechanics and a high BBIQ.

Handlogten's Heros said:

I agree with this here. I think their numbers are similar but their approaches are different. I think the thing that made AB tough was not being a chucker but the ball sticking... he would do well for a while but then he'd go back to sneaking in one or two useless dribbles when the ball was pinging around.. he might not shoot it, but the system wasn't a good fit. He didn't quite get the bench green light like JC is getting, but our bench units were actually pretty good back then... so it makes sense that now Quin may be able to tolerate it more.

The other difference I have seen is JC seems to get the ball in the paint under a little more control and is getting better looks there than AB did... 2 game samples so it may not be real.

I'm really happy for AB as he seems to have gotten in a rythymn and likely carved out a bench role somewhere in the league for the next 5-6 years. You could see how hard he was trying to fit in here and it wasn't a great system for him. I think Quin tried to make it work too. I will always be team AB but think JC might be a better (but not perfect) fit for this team.

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Really good, fair post


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Release the Kraken said:

Why do we insist on comparing him to a basically broken player like Burks, why not somebody like Lou Williams? Cause that’s the conversation we should be having. The players know it. Maggette was talking about how highly Kobe regarded Clarkson with the Lakers. Kevin Porter talked about how Clarkson mentored him and helped him read the defense. Mitchell talked about how Clarkson is going to make his life so much easier. The only similarity between clarkson and Burks is they’re both athletic, but Clarkson has good shot mechanics and a high BBIQ.

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Burks aint broken bro. He is averaging 15.5 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game (29.1 minutes per game) this season.

Nothing amazing but cerainly not broken.


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Clarkson has not made it to the dog house ...yet. It seems like a bad place to be some players will never even sniff the dog house no matter what they do on the court. Time will tell if Clarkson gets moved to the doghouse. Players that don't go there seem to be somewhat successful over time just ask Ingles and Niang.

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Handlogten's Heros said:

He didn't quite get the bench green light like JC is getting

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Snyder didn't, but why would any coach have given it to him (on a winning team)? I liked Burks a lot, but I question why he deserved that green light.

Burks played like he wanted to present his talent and ability to his friends, and like he was happy to be in the exclusive club that is the NBA. Clarkson plays like he sees nothing but throats out there that he wants to rip out (on the opposing team and in the stands on the road).

This distinction is massive when it comes to building a contender.