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Los Angeles Lakers: Jordan Clarkson And The Glimmer Of Hope

By Jackson Sanders

Mar 24, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Lakers assistant coach Paul Pressey speaks to Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) during a break in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Lakers assistant coach Paul Pressey speaks to Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) during a break in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the month of March, the Los Angeles Lakers featured a prized rookie as one of the major parts of their offense. The result was a stat line of 15.8 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. In his first game of April, that same rookie put forth 18 points on seven of nine field goals, as well as 10 assists and seven rebounds.

If anyone was reading this in September, it’s unlikely they would assume the player that described above was rookie guard Jordan Clarkson. As a second-round draft choice, he was mainly an afterthought among those not invested in the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, it was supposed to be Julius Randle who would make the biggest impact on the team in his debut season.

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Clarkson was destined for the D-League, or perhaps a developmental spot on the bench.

Well, we know how Randle’s season went. It was unlucky for him, and for the franchise. However, there is this bit of luck coming back for the Lakers: they just may have hit on Clarkson in the second round.

Post All-Star break, only two rookies have higher scoring averages than Jordan Clarkson (15.7 points per game). Their names? Rookie of the Year frontrunners Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls.

According to NBA.com, he bests both of those players in field goal percentage (Clarkson is shooting 49.1 percent), three-point percentage (30.8 percent), and free-throw percentage (84.7 percent).

Offensively, Jordan Clarkson is still full of untapped potential. He’s long enough to do damage around the basket, but needs to get to the line more often to keep pressure on the defense. He’s also not a bad shooter, but he needs to continue to work on his three-point accuracy to take his game to the next level.

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    • Clarkson doesn’t always look like a point guard on the court, but he’s still managed to average 5.1 assists per game after the All-Star break. That puts him second to Orlando Magic lottery pick Elfrid Payton among rookies who have played at least 10 games in that time span. In fact, Payton may be the only rookie point guard that has outplayed Clarkson in the “second half” of the season.

    Defensively, there are better guards out there from this rookie class. Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics is a bulldog, and the aforementioned Payton is nice on that end as well. But at 6-foot-5′ with a 6-foot-7” wingspan, he has the potential to be a dominant defender at the point guard slot.

    With proper offseason training, it’s conceivable that he could make some significant strides coming into next season.

    When it comes to Jordan Clarkson, one thing is clear: this kid is developing quickly. Each game he does something a little bit better, or puts up a stat line that demands some type of attention. And with each passing game, his confidence grows as well, and that cannot be understated.

    With Julius Randle ready to return next season, along with the potential of adding another young piece via a top-five pick in the draft, the Lakers have to be excited with what they have found in Jordan Clarkson. He’s showing us that he was vastly underrated coming into the year, and why he’s the glimmer of hope for the Los Angeles Lakers as this season winds down.

    Next: Our Latest NBA Mock Draft

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