Suns 2010 Preseason Thread

[Cheesebeef]

Does anybody know what exactly is Earl Clark's contract situation? The guy simply does not belong in the NBA. You'd think a guy with all those tools would be able to show at least one of them in a preseason game, but the guy is a black hole. I pushed hard for us to draft him last year, and boy, was THAT a mistake. I'd rather keep Siler over Earl Clark. At least he works hard. Clark was easily our worst player on the floor. Even Siler and Dowdell played better--even though Z can't run our offense at all, at least he has a little bit of offense in him.

man, he must be AWFUL if this is coming from you Chap! (note: that's not meant to be an insult, you just seem to give more support/give our guys the benefit of the doubt a little longer than most here!)

that sucks.

 

[joshstmarie]

As a side note I wanted the Suns to draft the project center Byron Mullens instead of Clark. I was probably the only one. I think our board did a poll. It would be interesting to pull up.

i definitely wanted bj mullens as well. The first time i saw him play in highschool i was shocked at how athelitic he was for a 7 footer. as far as i know hes still adjusting to the nba level........in the d league haha.

i remember him being a late bloomer at ohio state as well. don think i wanted him at 14 but i was definitely hoping the suns scooped him up as he would be perfect at the 5 for phoenix.

which reminds me.... jj hickson is having an amazing preseason. dude is going to have a breakout year. everytime i brought him up when the cleavland rumors were swirling i got absolutely shredded. dont care that its only preseason. hes going to be good.

p.s. my shift button is broken.

 

[Mainstreet]

In regard to being wrong about Clark's tenure, I just glanced at the stats and they were showing stats for two seasons. I figured 10-11 stats would not already be showing up. I didn't bother to check the dates. Anyway, I should have known better.

It just seems like Clark has already been with the Suns two seasons and more already.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/earl_clark/career_stats.html

 

[Chaplin]

man, he must be AWFUL if this is coming from you Chap! (note: that's not meant to be an insult, you just seem to give more support/give our guys the benefit of the doubt a little longer than most here!)

that sucks.

I give the benefit of the doubt to guys that deserve it. Clark does not. If a guy with his skill set can't simply out-and-out dominate the Summer League at the start of his second year, then there is a problem.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I give the benefit of the doubt to guys that deserve it. Clark does not. If a guy with his skill set can't simply out-and-out dominate the Summer League at the start of his second year, then there is a problem.

With the right brain transplant the guy is a superstar. Without it, he's a wasted roster spot.

Steve

 

[elindholm]

It seems like only a few months ago, I was saying that Lopez was, at the time, showing more promise than Clark, and I nearly got laughed off the board.

Edit: Here you go, it starts with post #42. It was back in January. http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f45/my-latest-whacky-blowing-it-up-strategy-136176-3.html

 

[Chaplin]

It seems like only a few months ago, I was saying that Lopez was, at the time, showing more promise than Clark, and I nearly got laughed off the board.

Edit: Here you go, it starts with post #42. It was back in January. http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f45/my-latest-whacky-blowing-it-up-strategy-136176-3.html

That's an interesting thread. While I don't understand why you bring it up other than mild grandstanding, I can safely say I was wrong picking Clark over Lopez. But then again, at the time Robin hadn't shown all that much--had he even become the starting center by that time?

And again, there's no denying that Earl Clark has a unique skill set that SHOULD make him a good NBA player. I just don't think that he'll ever be smart enough to utilize it efficiently. He would probably thrive in Europe--and that's exactly where he should be right now instead of taking up a roster spot.

 

[elindholm]

While I don't understand why you bring it up other than mild grandstanding

Well, it was more to illustrate the general point that predicting whether someone's "potential" will pan out is awfully, awfully difficult. Clark may still become a good player, and I would still consider it too soon to write him off. But overrating young talent by favoring potential over accomplishment is a common error, not only by fans, but by front office men as well.

The idea is that eventually, long-time members of this board might learn to recognize common errors and hopefully stop making them. Hey, come on, it's possible.

 

[Chaplin]

Well, it was more to illustrate the general point that predicting whether someone's "potential" will pan out is awfully, awfully difficult. Clark may still become a good player, and I would still consider it too soon to write him off. But overrating young talent by favoring potential over accomplishment is a common error, not only by fans, but by front office men as well.

The idea is that eventually, long-time members of this board might learn to recognize common errors and hopefully stop making them. Hey, come on, it's possible.

I wouldn't consider Lopez part of the "accomplishment" group back then, though. He had shown very, very little up to that point. However, you were correct that he showed something, whereas Clark has never shown anything. Gentry has said that he wants to give Clark every chance, and he really has. How long does he have to keep doing this for? Don't you think he's had enough time to show something, anything at all? In summer league, he wasn't even one of the top 10 players in the league--hell, you could argue he wasn't even the top player ON OUR TEAM. That's saying a lot.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I wouldn't consider Lopez part of the "accomplishment" group back then, though. He had shown very, very little up to that point. However, you were correct that he showed something, whereas Clark has never shown anything. Gentry has said that he wants to give Clark every chance, and he really has. How long does he have to keep doing this for? Don't you think he's had enough time to show something, anything at all? In summer league, he wasn't even one of the top 10 players in the league--hell, you could argue he wasn't even the top player ON OUR TEAM. That's saying a lot.

I get so tired of all this negativity here.

Steve

 

[ASUCHRIS]

The idea is that eventually, long-time members of this board might learn to recognize common errors and hopefully stop making them. Hey, come on, it's possible.

Ha, your perception of human nature in general extrapolated to the board seems surprisingly naive. Sadly enough, it seems as people get older, cognitive dissonance becomes further ingrained.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

With the right brain transplant the guy is a superstar. Without it, he's a wasted roster spot.

Steve

Yep, mental midget.

In other news, another preseason debacle, marked by horrible rebounding and no interior defense. Trying very hard to remain positive.

I'll just keep telling myself, it's only preseason, it's only preseason...followed by, it's still early, and they need time to gel, followed by the next rationalization. The only bright spot is the starters seem to be holding their own.

 

[Chaplin]

Matt Janning played 30 minutes last night. If that stat alone doesn't tell you to forget about last night, nothing will.

 

[jagu]

Matt Janning played 30 minutes last night. If that stat alone doesn't tell you to forget about last night, nothing will.

Exactly. These games are so meaningless. However, there are something that won't change. Channing Frye's defense for example.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Yep, mental midget.

In other news, another preseason debacle, marked by horrible rebounding and no interior defense. Trying very hard to remain positive.

I'll just keep telling myself, it's only preseason, it's only preseason...followed by, it's still early, and they need time to gel, followed by the next rationalization. The only bright spot is the starters seem to be holding their own.

Yeah, as more and more of you get drawn to the darkside, I figure 6 weeks from now I'll qualify as the most positive poster on this board. My concern all along has been that we won't gel in time. There is plenty of talent here even if it is oddly distributed.

Give them 2 or 3 months to play together and work out the kinks and I actually think we're a playoff contender. But, I don't think our schedule is going to give us that time and we're likely to be in too big a hole by the time they could have it all figured out.

Steve

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Yeah, as more and more of you get drawn to the darkside, I figure 6 weeks from now I'll qualify as the most positive poster on this board. My concern all along has been that we won't gel in time. There is plenty of talent here even if it is oddly distributed.

Give them 2 or 3 months to play together and work out the kinks and I actually think we're a playoff contender. But, I don't think our schedule is going to give us that time and we're likely to be in too big a hole by the time they could have it all figured out.

Steve

Setting realistic expectations for oneself seems key. I'll accept moral victories against good teams and wins over bad over the first couple weeks. I'll have less patience after the first month if the wins over decent teams aren't coming. I'm trying not to read too much into the preseason though. About time for the real games to start, no?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Setting realistic expectations for oneself seems key. I'll accept moral victories against good teams and wins over bad over the first couple weeks. I'll have less patience after the first month if the wins over decent teams aren't coming. I'm trying not to read too much into the preseason though. About time for the real games to start, no?

Wake me when the 26th rolls around. We may all have to practice a little cognitive dissonance this year.

Steve

 

[elindholm]

Ha, your perception of human nature in general extrapolated to the board seems surprisingly naive. Sadly enough, it seems as people get older, cognitive dissonance becomes further ingrained.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're probably right. I guess that's why older voters tend to shift toward the Republicans -- the disconnect between evidence and conclusion that makes up right-wing philosophy becomes less troubling to them.

 

[Mainstreet]

I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're probably right. I guess that's why older voters tend to shift toward the Republicans -- the disconnect between evidence and conclusion that makes up right-wing philosophy becomes less troubling to them.

I think the key depends upon the person rather than age although I think you are probably correct in general. When people fail to examine the facts from all sources before making a decision is plain mentally lazy to me. Some people want to be told what to think while others want to examine the facts and then make their own decision. Ultimately I think it all falls back on having a good education and being exposed to diversity.

 

[Folster]

I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're probably right. I guess that's why older voters tend to shift toward the Republicans -- the disconnect between evidence and conclusion that makes up right-wing philosophy becomes less troubling to them.

Spare us with the left-wing elitism and stick to basketball talk.

 

[Chaplin]

Yeah, as more and more of you get drawn to the darkside, I figure 6 weeks from now I'll qualify as the most positive poster on this board. My concern all along has been that we won't gel in time. There is plenty of talent here even if it is oddly distributed.

Steve

That'll be the day!

 

[AzStevenCal]

That'll be the day!

Yup. Also known as Friday, see you then.

Steve

 

[JCSunsfan]

I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're probably right. I guess that's why older voters tend to shift toward the Republicans -- the disconnect between evidence and conclusion that makes up right-wing philosophy becomes less troubling to them.

I thought it was that they gained wisdom with age and experience, but what do I know?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yeah, as more and more of you get drawn to the darkside, I figure 6 weeks from now I'll qualify as the most positive poster on this board. My concern all along has been that we won't gel in time. There is plenty of talent here even if it is oddly distributed.

Give them 2 or 3 months to play together and work out the kinks and I actually think we're a playoff contender. But, I don't think our schedule is going to give us that time and we're likely to be in too big a hole by the time they could have it all figured out.

Steve

I am slipping to the dark side, help me Yoda?

 

[AzStevenCal]

I am slipping to the dark side, help me Yoda?

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Suffering leads to midseason trade for a rebounder.

Steve