Laker Player Spotlight: G Jordan Clarkson
- Updated: October 23, 2015
Jordan Clarkson is a 6-5, 185 lb guard out of the University of Missouri where he scored 17.5 ppg, had 3.8 rpg and 3.4 in 34.1 assists per game as a Senior after having to red shirt after transferring from the University of Tulsa.
In the 2014 NBA Draft The Washington Wizards selected Jordan Clarkson with the 45th overall pick and traded the pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations, the move went under the radar and no one considered Clarkson as nothing more than an end of the bench player with a small chance to make the roster. However, Clarkson would go on to score 15.8 ppg, 5 rpg and 1.2 apg in 30.6 mpg over 5 games in the NBA Summer League, showing off great athleticism and a penchant for getting to the rim and make smart plays on both the offense and defensive end of the floor.
“I think Jordan Clarkson had a tremendous summer league,” Mark Madsen said. “I think he was one of the top players, not only on the Lakers team, but here at the Las Vegas Summer League. I loved Jordan Clarkson’s energy, I loved his enthusiasm for the game and I loved his ability to learn.”
In his first preseason game Clarkson would come out firing, going 3-13 and scoring 14 point in 27 minutes, he learned that NBA defenses weren’t going to let him get to the rim as easily as in college and in the summer league.
When the season started Clarkson found himself as the third PG behind Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price and played sparingly, even earning 9 straight DNP’s (Did Not Play’s) from November 23rd until December 15th. Clarkson would log a total of 22 DNP’s until January 23rd when he got his first start against the San Antonio Spurs scoring 11 points, grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing 5 assists with only one turnover playing against one of the best point guards in the league, Tony Parker. After that game, he was a staple of the Lakers rotation with his biggest moment coming against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 24th when Clarkson scored 30 points, on 12 of 19 shooting, with 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, and 3 turnovers.
From the start of the season until his first start, Jordan Clarkson averaged 12 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, with .434 FG%, .350 3pt% and .792 FT%
From his first start until the end of the season, Jordan Clarkson averaged 31.9 mpg, 15.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.0 apg, with .441 FG%, .295 3pt% and an .834 FT%
Looking forward into 2015 I expect to see Jordan grow as both a playmaker and a scorer. With Kobe Bryant back on the team and two true point guards in D’Angelo Russell and Marcelo Huertas, along with a surprising playmaker in Julius Randle, I expect to see a more efficient Jordan Clarkson being more dangerous and able to expand more energy on the defensive end by having a more complete team around with and a lot of willing passers.
At the moment Clarkson is one of the most dangerous players in the NBA off the drive and on pick and rolls getting to the hoop, I would love to see his range extend out a little more, at the moment he’s only shooting .300 from 3 point land in the 2015 pre-season and hasn’t made more than a single 3pt shot since October 7th. However, if he keeps shooting as efficiently as he has over the last few games, I don’t know how much I’d care.
I don’t see a lot of change in his stats for the upcoming season, he’ll be around the same 30 assists per game, with about 15-17 ppg, 4-5 rpg, but because he won’t play as much point guard with Russell and Huertas on the team, his assists should go down and his field goal percentage will improve by not having to shoulder as much of the scoring load as he did last season.
Jordan Clarkson is a special player and Mitch Kupchak really got a steal from the Wizards with this trade and I hope to see him in a Laker uniform for many years to come.
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