New Nugget Ian Clark Takes On His Former Team Tonight

After three days off, the Denver Nuggets will be back on the floor against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Today is April Fools Day, but the Nuggets will be taking this game seriously as they prepare for the stretch run of this campaign. There are eight games remaining on Denver’s schedule which means they have eight more chances to take a look at what they currently have before heading into an offseason of uncertainty.

This will be the second time the Nuggets (28-46) go head-to-head with the Jazz (33-41) this week. Denver came out victorious when the two teams met up last Friday in Denver, by a final score of 107-91. The Jazz are the NBA’s toughest defense — allowing 94.9 points per-game to their opponents. Surprisingly, the Nuggets solved their defense (for at least one night) as they shot 51.3-percent from the field (including 13-24 from three-point range). The 107 points were the most that Utah’s stingy defense has allowed in 35 games.

More from Nugg Love

On the other side of the ball, the Jazz were unsuccessful with their offense. They shot below 40-percent, while making only five of their 27 three-point attempts. Their usually effective big men were contained on the inside and they managed to score a meek 36 points in the paint.

Since that Friday clash, the Nuggets dropped a Saturday rendezvous with the Portland Trailblazers in the Rose City, 120-114. The loss dropped Denver’s record under interim coach Melvin Hunt to 8-7.

Utah has played two games in the meantime, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder at home (94-89), and blowing out the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road (104-84). The sub-90’s defensive scores were a welcome sight after the Jazz had lost the previous four in a row while allowing 102.8 points per-game.

The Jazz may think they have the upper hand in this matchup considering they have strung together two solid games, but the Nuggets will have a spy on their side this go-around. On Saturday, the Nuggets claimed point guard Ian Clark off of waivers, two days after the Jazz released him.

You may be asking yourself, “Who is Ian Clark?” That’s a great question, considering he is not a common household name. Clark played four seasons of collegiate basketball at Belmont University, compiling a long list of accomplishments. He won the Ohio Valley Conference’s Player of the Year in 2013, as well as being named an Honorable Mention All-American. He helped lead Belmont to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, but they never advanced past the round of 64. During his senior season (2013), he shot an eye-popping 45.9-percent from long distance — ranked fourth nationally.

Despite having such a great college career, he went undrafted in 2013, but he managed to make a name for himself in the Las Vegas Summer League (playing for the Golden State Warriors), where he won the Most Valuable Player of the Championship Game (33 points). After his great showing in the Summer League, the Jazz signed him to their roster, but he has yet to earn consistent playing time over his first two seasons. He spent some time in the NBA D-League, as well as playing in 46 games for the Jazz. He has career averages of 2.4 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 7.2 minutes per-games. Despite shooting 36.9-percent from the floor, he has been a decent three-point threat at 35.7-percent.

It remains to be seen how much this kid can really contribute, but he will definitely have some input in tonight’s game plan. He has been a part of Utah head coach Quin Snyder’s system all season long, and his perspective and insight could be useful.

This will be the fourth and final meeting between these two Northwest Divisional foes. Denver has won two of the previous three meetings this season. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM MST.

Home/Nuggets News