Clarkson has been amazing in his upward performance progression since he got his chance to start after the All Star break. Like / 45 degrees. Did not expect what I am seeing now from where he was at the end of this season. Objectively incredible. Looking at Klay now 3 years in (?) .... I think there's a case to be made for Clarkson to be a better player than him potentially. What if in a year or 2 Clarkson is better than Thompson? Because it's not hard to imagine D'Angelo Russell with 15-20 more lbs of muscle...... starting to just approach his prime years.
I think we should give them a few years to grow up first But love the excitement and their potential.
Sure and look both ways when you cross the street. "What if in a year or 2 Clarkson is better than Thompson?"
Everyone assumes that because Clarkson was an older rookie, his ceiling is capped. I think the exact opposite. He's gonna continue getting better. He has the chance to be great if he keeps working at it.
While I do love the enthusiasm, I still think it's way to early to compare Clarkson and Russell to the starting backcourt of a championship team.
2 years from now it's not going to be too early to have the discussion, at least with Clarkson and Thompson. Maybe sooner. IMO. Incumbent upon Klay to improve his game as fast as Jordan is improving his, to stay ahead of him.
I love Clarkson. I've loved him since we got him and I saw him in Summer League last year. I remember when he had that put back or tip in at the buzzer for the win and I knew I was seeing something special. I think a big reason we're so cautious about Clarkson is because of the terrible luck we've had with 2nd round picks in the past. Ebanks, Character, Goudelock, Morris, Von Wafer, Sun Yue. We've consistently struck out in the 2nd round, barely able to get a serviceable player. Prior to Clarkson the last serviceable 2nd rounder we got was Luke Walton. We technically drafted Marc Gasol too. He definitely deserves to start this year and he's at the point where playing more and more minutes is going to be the best thing to help him get better.
I think this thread is very applicable and am looking forward to the warrior battles coming up these next few years. Great basketball ahead. Both Clarkson and Russell can rebound, play make and score. Both will learn defense under Byron. Maybe the most important thing is they both have extreme confidence. When u have it all it isn't hard to expect great things.
I know you said for JC and Thompson, but 2 years from now the Russell/Curry comparison might be where we have the advantage. Steph's glass ankles haven't given out for a while now, but as he approaches 30 I think the odds are relatively good that changes. As far as Klay/JC, I think they're too different to compare. JC is already a better passer and rebounder, and he has a long way to go to become as good of a defender as Klay.
Both Clarkson and Russell have excellent ball handling skill, can set up play, can run the floor, one can penetrate, another and run PnR and hit mid range jumper. Very dynamic backcourt if coach can mesh them up. But skill wise, they are not like splash brother nor john wall-beal duo.
I'm in the camp that Thompson is a little overrated so I thing the gap is a little closer than most. Thompson is a fantastic shooter but the rest of his game isn't that special. Clarkson has the ability to excel at more than just shooting. This is the guard we won't have to worry about.
We've got a long ways to go. Curry is the reigning MVP and Thompson is clearly the second best SG in the league with phenomenal defense. Remember, Thompson holds the NBA record for most points scored in a quarter. Let's have Russell/Clarkson score 37 points IN A GAME before we even start the comparison
I mean it's definitely too early to say this, but over the next few years I think the statement will become more and more valid. Even when I wasn't on the Russell-train the ONE thing that really excited me was the way he fit with Jordan. Jordan is a cutter/slasher able to get the rim absolutely at will. Russell is a passing maestro with a great outside shot. What separates the two groups of guards is that Curry is really the only one in Golden State who can initiate the offense. Thompson isn't a point guard in any sense. He's a shooting guard through and through, with above average scoring ability and very good defense. Clarkson is a combo guard capable of creating a shot for himself or others. Russell is a different player from Curry as well. Now to be fair, we're comparing champs and veterans to a rookie and sophomore, but Curry is a better ball handler and is maybe the greatest shooter the game has ever seen. I don't think Russell is there and I'm not sure he gets there, but Russell DOES have great size for a point guard and he has already shown some Nash-like qualities getting into the paint. I also think while Curry obviously has the edge because he's a veteran, Russell is a more natural passer. We're a LONG ways away from being able to compare our two to those two, but the potential is there to compete with them and that's exciting all by itself.
After seeing Russell play I guess my Nash comparison was more spot on than I thought. He's a larger more NBA-body with a Nash brain and the Magic touch. I'd like him to develop a Curry shot. I think what I want him to work on more than shooting well is his decision making in the paint. He hesitates once he makes his initial drives and either turns it over or makes a bad decision. I'd like to see him attack and I think part of this is because he isn't in the proper shape. I see potential but I see a lot of room for work.
We always seem to play them the most times in pre-season because of travel logistics. We can be sure that our 2 guys are wanting the challenge and measuring themselves. Yeah, definitely Clarkson has to step up his defense and his long range bombing to catch up to Klay. But conversely he is already capable of some skills that are beyond what Klay has. And defense and long range bombing are huge. Not worried about Russell with his handles and floor vision and Magic lite passing skills, plus being bigger. In a year or couple of years. But to even get in the conversation with Steph's shooting is a mountain to climb. Different "combined" skills both sets of guards present. But out of NOTHING a short year ago, we have this amazing set of guards ourself. With alpha mentalities. Checking "alpha/leader" types off now on this year's roster I have added JC: Kobe, Russell, Randle, Clarkson. With Kobe to learn from for all the rest of them's post graduate work.
This. This right here. I know we're all spoiled Laker fans with lofty expectations. But can we please remember we're supposed to have NOTHING right now. 80% of Laker fans wanted Dwight to stay. I remember Roo being one of the few who were against re-signing Dwight. Striking out on Dwight and striking out on Melo and striking out on Pau and Kobe's injury curse is what got us here. We're kind of lucky if you think about it.
They will make a very nice duo. Give Russell a season to get acclimated and hone his talents...then they would be in the same conversation. Perimeter shooting still goes to the Splashes but I feel that Clarkson has better off the dribble game than Thompson. Russell will end up having the edge over Curry court vision and passing being a truer point guard.
The splash bros are both pure shooters and 3pt specialists which doesn't really describe Clarkson/D Angelo, especially Clarkson. Curry will be remembered as one of the greatest shooters ever. As nba vets they are years ahead in skill. A bit premature to start throwing their names around with the bros. Different players but our guys have a lot of promise in a lot of areas .
