Joe Rexrode: Golden State samples Nashville flavor
OAKLAND, Calif. — One’s Belmont, one’s Vanderbilt. One’s a 6-foot-3 guard, one’s a 6-11 center. One was an undrafted free agent who had to claw his way into the NBA, one was a first-round pick.
And here’s another thing about Ian Clark and Festus Ezeli, guys with Nashville ties looking to end up with Golden State Warriors championship rings:
“Ian is kind of the jokester of the team,” said Draymond Green, the unofficial spokesman of the team. “Festus is kind of the butt of the joke of the team.”
More on that later. What Green said next, as he limped on a sore ankle outside the Golden State locker room Wednesday at Oracle Arena, moments after a series-clinching win over Portland, explains why Clark and Ezeli fit with this defending NBA champion.
“They’re two guys who come in, very professional, they put in the work every day, no matter what. And they’re key pieces here,” Green said of a team that starts the Western Conference finals Monday against Oklahoma City. “The way we look at this thing, 15 guys make up what we feel is the best team in the world. And those are two key parts to it.”
Sporadically, though, at least in terms of game contributions. And that’s a challenge. “Be ready” is a lot easier to say than do because human nature is to lose focus when the expectation is an evening on the bench.
Ezeli, a 2012 first-round pick (No. 30 overall) out of Vanderbilt, did not know starting center Andrew Bogut would suffer an abductor strain early in Wednesday’s 125-121 win. That increased Ezeli’s minutes to 14, and he responded with eight points and four rebounds — and better pick-and-roll defense than the 7-foot Bogut was capable of playing against a deadly pick-and-roll team.
“It’s sports, right? So you never know what’s gonna happen,” Ezeli said afterward. “Just like today, Bogut goes down and I start the second half. You just have to stay ready. Ian’s a guy who has done an amazing job of that. He keeps getting better, I’ve seen it all year long. I think he’s gonna be a good player in this league for a long time.”
Clark stayed on the bench in his warmups Wednesday, no big surprise with MVP Stephen Curry back in the starting lineup, playing full minutes and doing ridiculous things. But Clark had a hand in the Warriors getting to this point with extra rest.
In Game 2, with Curry still sidelined by a sprained knee, Clark helped save the day with 12 minutes off the bench, hitting both of his shots and committing no turnovers. The former Belmont standout from Germantown, Tenn., has had moments in his first season with the Warriors — including a 21-point game at Dallas and 26 points in the five-game, first-round series win over Houston — and that has helped solidify his quest to make this a permanent job.
Undrafted in 2013, Clark spent parts of two seasons in Utah and then had a brief stint in Denver. He impressed Green and Harrison Barnes in summer league play in 2013, and he beat out former All-Star Ben Gordon for the Warriors’ final roster spot this season.
“These guys and the coaching staff, they make me feel comfortable. And especially with these guys, it’s much easier to play the game,” Clark said. “Especially when you know they have confidence in you. But it’s not easy, and your mindset has to stay the same. Never too high, never too low. That’s how you’re successful in whatever situation. Always being level-headed. That’s something I’ve been trying to master.”
Green, Barnes and Brandon Rush, a former teammate at Utah, helped Clark adjust. So did Ezeli, who got to know Clark a bit in Nashville — he’s quick to point out Vandy’s 85-76 win over Belmont in 2010, in which Ezeli scored 24 points and Clark nine — and he can relate somewhat to career uncertainty.
Ezeli will be a restricted free agent in the summer, and he’s an enticing talent without numbers — career averages just north of four points and four rebounds a game. Major knee surgery robbed him of the 2013-14 season, and another knee surgery cost him 31 games this season.
As he was preparing to come back April 1, teammates and coaches pulled off an elaborate prank, employing the help of a sports talk radio show, to convince Ezeli he had been cut. He called it “cold-blooded.” Green called it “amazing.”
It’s not the first time Ezeli has been pranked. He dishes it out and takes it, he’s a trash talk specialist in a fun locker room. And an asset on the court.
It’s just that the Warriors are deep and play best when small, with Green moving from power forward to center. Ezeli, if healthy, could have a larger role elsewhere.
Clark also is a restricted free agent, and both could end up in new homes next season. Right now they’re halfway to rings and a chance to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Nashville.
Ezeli did that in the fall, visiting Vandy. Both stay connected to their alma maters. Clark said Golden State coach Steve Kerr is a “player’s coach” like Belmont’s Rick Byrd.
“They let you play to your strengths, and that’s all that you can ask for when you want to excel on the basketball court,” Clark said. “That’s how it was in college, and I can feel myself doing it here.”
Ezeli is looking forward to meeting new Commodores coach Bryce Drew, and he remains close with Kevin Stallings. He talked with him shortly after Stallings left for Pittsburgh.
“Definitely happy for him that he did not get fired, definitely not good to have that blot on your record,” Ezeli said of Stallings’ exit from Vandy. “But it’s good, I’m happy for him, he’s at a good school. Definitely hope they play Vanderbilt so I can talk smack when Vanderbilt beats them.”
OKLAHOMA CITY at GOLDEN STATE
NBA's Western Conference finals
When: Game 1, 8 p.m. Monday
TV/radio: TNT/94.9-FM