Luke Walton takes a direct approach if he feels that Jordan Clarkson is
over-dribbling the ball.
“We keep it pretty simple,” Walton said at Tuesday’s practice. “We tell him to
quit doing it if he does it.”
Clarkson has heeded Walton’s instructions to the benefit of the Lakers’ second
unit.
As the team’s backup point guard, Clarkson is third among all bench players in
scoring with 15.5 points per game.
On a collective level, the Lakers’ bench is providing the NBA’s fourth-most
points among reserves (41.8) on the second-best field goal percentage (50.8).
Much of that has to do with the way Clarkson has matured as a ball handler.
“We don’t want him dribbling 15 times,” Walton said “He’s going to be a big part
of our offense and a big part of our scoring threat, but we want him making
quick decisions.
“We run a lot of stuff for him, so we trust him to make passes when he gets
double-teamed or blitzed.”
Clarkson has cut down on the ball-pounding, averaging 4.13 dribbles per touch —
a healthy decrease from 5.21 as a rookie (the last time he primarily played
point guard).
While Walton likely wants that number to submerge even more, Clarkson has done a
good job of using his slashing ability to create offense for himself and others.
He has shot 51.2 percent from the field — second-best among the league’s point
guards — and has six games of 4-5 assists despite averaging about 21 minutes
played.
“Coach kept it really simple for me this year on what I needed to do,” Clarkson
said. “I’m just executing.”
Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers in scoring with 25 points in tonight’s win over
Phoenix #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/MxWfv8uECo
That execution was on showcase in Monday’s win over Phoenix, as Clarkson poured
in a season-high 25 points.
He struck the Suns from all three scoring levels, shooting 5-of-6 at the rim,
3-of-6 from mid-range and 3-of-7 on 3-pointers.
The display was an ideal microcosm for Clarkson’s season thus far.
Arguably the Lakers’ top scoring threat, Clarkson has been at his best when
using his trademark slashing ability, as he has shot a fiery 63.8 percent on
layups this year (30-of-47).
Clarkson has been particularly dangerous in high pick-and-rolls. Below, Andrew
Bogut completely takes Clarkson’s defender out of the play with a huge screen.
With time running out in the quarter, Clarkson attacks downhill and challenges
Phoenix’s notable shot-blocker, Alex Len. JC then shows his craftiness with a
beautiful left-handed, up-and-under finish.
While analytics have deemed mid-range shots as the least valuable attempts in
basketball, it is still a useful weapon if a player hits a high enough clip.
Clarkson has done just that, making a team-best 47.6 percent from mid-range this
year (20-of-42). He has been particularly effective with his pull-up jumper,
because defenses are worried about his ability to slash in for a layup.
Below, Clarkson takes advantage of Phoenix’s defensive disarray, as he is (for
some reason) guarded by 7-foot-1 Dragan Bender. Clarkson pump-fakes Bender and
utilizes a screen from Julius Randle to free himself.
Center Tyson Chandler has to worry about protecting the rim from a JC drive, so
Clarkson pulls up for a quality look at the free throw line.
While Clarkson has been money from mid-range, his 3-point shooting has also been
tops on the team.
His 40.0 percent clip from deep (18-of-45) has been crucial for a Lakers squad
hitting the league’s lowest collective percentage on 3’s.
Below is a pretty simple spot-up, as Devin Booker gets caught watching the ball.
Clarkson sinks the trey and then shows off more of his skill set.
He gets back on defense and comes up with an opportune steal. After pushing the
pace and collapsing the defense with his drive, he finds Kyle Kuzma alone in the
corner.
Kuzma misses the 3-pointer, but it’s still as quality a shot as the Lakers can
hope for, and it all stems from Clarkson’s improved awareness as a distributor.
Of course, Clarkson will still occasionally fall back into spurts of
over-dribbling and me-first ball handling.
Walton wants to weed out those tendencies, and the coaches always highlight them
in film sessions — including if the play turns out a success.
“Even on possessions if he scores it, if he dribbles 15 times first it still
deflates the way that we’re trying to play,” Walton said. “And he knows that. I
just think he’s very confident in his ability.
“It’s not like the possessions he does that he’s trying to be defiant. He’s
played a certain way for a while and, like anything else, it’s a habit we’re
trying to break.”
Clarkson is receptive to the molding of his game, as his priority is having an
overall positive effect on his team.
“I’m just trying to hoop, help us win games — that’s it,” Clarkson said. “I’m
not really looking at anything else. When I’m on the court I’m just trying to
impact the game.”
JC
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