Summer League Team : Russell smooth 21 (1-4)

Nash has since worked out with Clarkson through both informal workouts and film study.

“I tried to give him tips on creating space for himself,” Nash said of Clarkson. “If he creates space for himself, space will open up for him to pass the ball. Then the decisions will become clearer and easier to make.”

Nash advised Lakers rookie forward Julius Randle on tweaking his shooting mechanic. Nash also helped Lakers forward Ryan Kelly become more fluid with his movement after nursing overlapping hamstring injuries that kept him out last season for a combined 30 games.

But plenty of Nash’s mentorship focused on Clarkson, who averaged 15.8 points on 45.8 percent shooting, five assists and 4.2 rebounds in 32.1 minutes through 38 starts.

“He’s got a lot of ingredients to be a terrific NBA player,” Nash said of Clarkson. “The sky’s the limit. He has great size and athleticism. He can score and hit big shots. He’s developing into a good playmaker.”

Both Kupchak and Scott also hope Clarkson develops into a leader.

“The biggest thing about a leader is being authentic, being yourself and having pure motives,” Nash said. “If you are there every day, working hard and trying to get better and lay it on the line every night, that’s leadership. Whether you’re a vocal leader or quiet leader, it’s about your teammates believing in you, trusting that your motives are pure and trying to win.”

After fulfilling that job description on the hardwood, Nash will eventually channel that energy elsewhere. But in the meantime, Nash pledged that he remains “happy to” mentor Clarkson more.

“He’s a great kid and great people,” Nash said of Clarkson. “It’s been fun for me.”

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/201...enjoying-retirement-mentoring-jordan-Clarkson

The bolded part. Russell needs to learn how to create space for himself. Until then, we should be running more pick in roll for him until he gets a grasp of how to create that space consistently to increase the higher percentage looks for himself...

 

I would love it if Nash stuck around to help Russell...

 

I'm just happy Russell can pass like Magic and it looks like we're going to have the best rebounding backcourt for years to come.

Everything else is just nitpicking at this point because of various factors (NBA pace, fatigue, execution of offense, etc)

 

I'm almost positive he will. I'm going back to 06 during Chris Paul's rookie year to see if Byron ran a lot of pick in roll in Paul's rookie year...

 

Clarkson was the bawllzz again. black was good again. Russell looked out of sorts again. nance looked smart and athletic again. Upshaw looked like a giant baby deer again.

I just watched the first game on replay, essentially.

 

Yeah Upshaw's length bothered Okafor unlike Black who he could move rather easily. He moved Upshaw too but the latter has his hands up most of the time.

 

I think Upshaw just needs to get in shape. He's showing plenty of positive signs.

 

I hope he works out. I really liked the 1st game I seen from him. He's very talented.

 

Okafor was bothered by tall guys in college a number of times, including against Utah and Gonzaga in the tournament. I also thought Upshaw was doing a good job out there.

Nance was a bit of a scene stealer with his blocks of Okafor though. Lol

 

I agree. He's got a lot of potential. I think he can be a solid offensive player too. Maybe we can bring Kareem in to work with him a bit.

 

Any video highlights? Had a family thing and missed the game.

 

Wow. Chook is again asleep at the wheel.

Riot!!!

OTOH... we are spoiled by him...

 

Jordan is a beast but we all knew that .
I REALY like Larry , hope he gets some PT comes regular season. As for Okafor... im glad we went with Russell. Dude looks "soft & cute" under the basket. He'll get killed by the NBA centers and physical PF's.

 

If Russel and Randle explode on NYK, it will be a great summer league for us. Clarkson, Black and Nance nailed it each in his own way.
Want the both of them hitting a double double. no reason why they can't do it.

 

Just finished watching the game. The Larry chants was like the highlight for me. Reminded me of the "Luke" chant when Luke Walton was playing.