Los Angeles Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson Developing Into A Jewel
By Mehdi Bouneb
This season for the Los Angeles Lakers has been dreadful, to the say the least. The Playoffs will be missed for the second consecutive season and just the seventh time in franchise history.
Unfortunately, players have been lost to injuries. There is also a new coaching staff and the losses keep piling up with an occasional win. If there is one bright spot in recent weeks though, it’s Jordan Clarkson.
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Struggling to get any sort of playing time in the first two months of the season, Clarkson kept working hard and when Kobe Bryant and Ronnie Price were lost to season-ending injuries, Clarkson seized the opportunity and has not disappointed.
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The young guard from Missouri is having a great finish to his rookie season. Clarkson, a late second rounder in the draft, has started the last 23 games and averaged 14.0 points per game (third amongst rookies), 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. NBA.com ranks him 6th in the Rookie Ladder which is higher than sixth overall pick Marcus Smart and 13th pick Zach LaVine, ranked 7 and 9 respectively on the Rookie Ladder. That is quite an achievement for a late second rounder. When Clarkson got to the NBA, he felt that he was the best guard coming out of the draft. With that thinking in mind, Clarkson was on a mission to prove it was a mistake not to select him as one of the top guards.
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Clarkson has demonstrated through his recent play that he is, without a doubt, one of the better rookie point guards the 2014 NBA Draft had to offer. However, for a young guard, there is always room for improvement. Clarkson will need to improve his three-point shooting percentage currently standing at 30.9% as well as increasing his assist numbers. This will come with practice and dedication, and Jordan has shown he is willing to put in the work.
Is Jordan Clarkson the Lakers’ point guard of the future or will he just be a role player? The 2015/16 season will be a good indication, as it will allow fans to witness how has Clarkson developed over the summer. Until then, the rookie can be quite happy from his performance thus far, and can only use it as a building block for the future and hope to be a jewel for the Lakers.