He was the 46th pick out of Missouri. The Lakers had finally drafted a young, talented, athletic and fierce point guard. As soon as summer league started you could tell Clarkson was going to be special if he put in the work. He's been one of the few bright spots in the Lakers' dreaded season; his development is really the only thing that makes Lakers' games watchable.
When the season started Clarkson did not get the playing time Lakers' fans hoped for. At the time, Head Coach Byron Scott was eyeing a possible 8 seed for the Lakers, in hopes of making the playoffs. Scott decided to play the veteran guards in order to achieve that. Quickly, things did not pan out. Between team chemistry, injuries and overall talent, the season hopes were fading. Thankfully that meant more time for Jordan Clarkson, whom fans were excited to see.
Since Clarkson has been given the role as the starting point guard and the majority of the minutes, he's steadily improved his play. His point production has continued to increase and become consistent, as well as his defense improving. You can see with his confidence improving he's been more comfortable taking the big shots and taking over games. He has become fearless. It helps when he's playing in the western conference against the best point guards in the league every night. That too has attributed to his increase in development and production.
Recently the Lakers played against the Memphis Grizzles, one of the best teams in the NBA. That night Clarkson had the best game in his young career; putting up 25 points (career high), 4 rebounds and 6 assists. He played so well that the Grizzles were forced to have their best perimeter defender, Tony Allen, to defend him late in the game in order to try and slow down Clarkson. He even caught the attention of Grizzles star power forward Zach Randolph who praised Clarkson via Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops: “That young fellow, he’s going to be good,” he said. “I didn’t even know who he was. I’d never heard of him until tonight. He’s a second-round pick? Who’s evaluating this talent?”
Praise from an all star veteran like Zach Randolph goes to show Clarkson 's talent is being recognized throughout the league. Since the all star break he's made a case for himself to be named to the "All Rookie Team". The rest of this year I will excitedly have a close eye on Clarkson's development and his possible team mates next season. He will be a major factor in their future success.
No comments:
Post a Comment