Ian Clark has been playing well enough that we can say with certainty that he would still be good even if he went to a team that didn’t have four All-Stars on it. That’s something you can’t say for some other Warriors bench players. Well, you could say it, but it wouldn’t be true. It’s true for Ian Clark.
Check this out: Clark is shooting 52% from the field this year and 43% from deep. As a shooting guard. Shooting guards haven’t shot 50% from the field since the 1990’s. They just don’t do it anymore. Ever. You’re lucky if they even shoot 42%, and here’s some relatively unknown bench player putting up points more efficiently than almost everybody else at his position. Out of players who are definitely shooting guards, only Norman Powell and Iman Shumpert have a better true shooting percentage.
It’s true that if Clark’s role were increased, we probably wouldn’t see the same insane efficiency that he’s currently producing. It’s also probably true that he won’t keep it up for the entire season since it’s so out of character for him to shoot this well. But for now, he’s a credible bench threat whom Warriors fans can ironically get hyped for so they don’t look so much like bandwagoners.