Basketball news: NBA champion Ian Clark backs the talented Adelaide 36ers to make playoffs
When it comes to winning championships, Ian Clark has enjoyed recent success at the Golden State Warriors and the Sydney Kings. So why do the Adelaide 36ers give him the same feel?
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Adelaide 36ers import Ian Clark has won an NBA championship alongside Steph Curry, an NBL title in Sydney last season and he believes the 36ers also possess the talent to achieve something “special”.
Clark’s ringing endorsement of the 36ers comes as CJ Bruton’s men need to go on a winning run to make the extended top six finals format this season.
Adelaide sits in seventh position, just outside the six on points differential, heading into Friday’s crucial clash against the Illawarra Hawks.
Lookin' right at home, @IanClark! 😤
— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) December 29, 2022
📺 - @ESPNAusNZ + @kayosportspic.twitter.com/lFopd5UfWR
Clark has only been in the City of Churches for just over a fortnight, but he has seen enough to know that the 36ers can make the finals — and have an impact.
“Definitely — I think it’s just about putting it together,” said Clark, who will play his fourth game for the 36ers on Friday.
“We’re continuing to chip away at the little things we need to get better at and building the chemistry with these guys.
“I’m learning their tendencies and they are learning mine, so we can put it together on the floor.
“It hasn’t even been two weeks here, so I’m getting adjusted with the guys and trying to rack these wins up before the playoffs.”
Clark was the ultimate bench weapon for the Sydney Kings last season while he stepped up to a lead role when the Kings lost star guard Jaylen Adams to a hamstring injury.
The Kings wouldn’t have won the championship last season without the veteran 31-year-old, who displayed his class in Game 3 of the grand final series against Tasmania with three triples down the stretch to finish with 22 points.
Clark knows he is far from that final polished product at present, which is an ominous warning for the rest of the NBL.
“For sure, I’m still ironing my kinks out,” said Clark, who had 15 points in Adelaide’s New Year’s Eve loss to the Taipans.
“I felt really good in the Cairns game, and it will just take being out on the floor with these guys a little bit more.
“Once I get more comfortable offensively and defensively, I can just fall in and be myself.
“That is the goal and that is where I’m headed to.”
Clark believes his championship-winning experience in Sydney last season puts him in a strong position to handle the expectation at Adelaide.
He provided the Kings with enormous energy when it mattered most at the back end of the season, and he believes he can replicate this stint with the 36ers.
“It (the Kings experience) will be big,” he said.
“I’m came in at the same point last season and had to jump headfirst into the water and adjust to the league pretty quickly with the style of play and the guys in the league.
“The whole experience last season and having a deep playoff run and winning will be great for me given it’s only my second season in the league and other guys have been here for longer.”
Clark may be an NBL novice compared so other seasoned campaigners, but his international big-game experience gives him an edge.
The veteran guard, who has 371 games of NBA experience and a championship at the Warriors in 2017, also has immense faith in Adelaide’s ability as a team.
Clark named a host of reasons why he is confident the 36ers can defy the odds to go on a championship run.
“CJ as coach, for starters,” he said.
“His experience as a player and his style of coaching.
“It’s also the guys I play alongside in the locker room. I’ve played against AC (Antonius Cleveland) when he was at Illawarra last season, and we had some big battles.
“I also remember playing against Adelaide last year and they beat us in Sydney.
“So, now seeing these guys in the locker room and seeing how much they are buying in and the talent that we have all the way down the roster, it intrigued and excited me and I think we can do something special and that is what I’m here for.
“I’m a competitor and I just want to win.
“It is a tight race right now and nobody can deny that. Everyone sees it and we see it as well, but I’m just trying to bring the focus of just worrying about what we can control.”
For Clark and his 36ers, it’s a challenge that starts with a home clash against the Hawks on Friday night.
Adelaide 36ers vs Illawarra Hawks at Adelaide Entertainment Centre from 7.30pm (AEDT) and Live on ESPN and Kayo
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