Cleveland Cavaliers: Jordan Clarkson proving he is part of Cavs’ future

Jordan Clarkson’s stock was awfully low after a dismal showing in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. However, at the quarter pole of the Cleveland Cavaliers season, Clarkson is the leading scorer (outside of Kevin Love in his four games active) despite not starting a game. He is also proving to be a valuable piece this team can count on for not only now, but also the future.

Jordan Clarkson spent his first three-and-a-half seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. After trying to become a starter, Clarkson transitioned to a bench role, where he began to see success. In his last season-and-a-half with the Purple & Gold, Clarkson averaged 14.6 points per game and shot 44.6 percent from the floor. Then in the blink of an eye, Clarkson went from a lottery team to a championship-contending team at last year’s trade deadline, as he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. For many young players, this can be a shot in the arm, as it gives them a chance to prove themselves.

Clarkson hit the ground running with his new team, scoring 17 points on 63.6 percent shooting in his first game wearing the Wine & Gold.

Over Clarkson’s first six games he put up 14 points per game (52 percent shooting) and hit 44 percent of his three-point attempts.

Clarkson would continue to succeed in a bench role with the Cavaliers, but he hit a cold spell toward the end of the regular season. That was a cold spell Clarkson could not shake in the playoffs, scoring just 90 total points (4.7 points per game), per Basketball Reference.

With Clarkson unable to score, he offered little value to the Cleveland Cavaliers and even sat on the bench in the final two NBA Finals games.

So it was safe to say many had their doubts about what Clarkson could bring to the Cavaliers moving forward, especially after LeBron James announced he was leaving to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

But as the 2018-19 season got underway, we slowly saw Clarkson get back to being who he was, a crafty scoring guard. Through the Cavaliers’ first 22 games, he only has two games where he did not hit double-figure scoring numbers, per NBA.com.

While Clarkson is taking 4.5 three-point shots per game, he is also not just settling for the jump shot. He is attacking the basket and getting to the foul line as a result. Clarkson may want to attack the rim more often and look to get to the line as he is 43-50 (86.0 percent) this season.

Plus, with Kevin Love still out with a reported toe injury and George Hill just returning last night against the Toronto Raptors with a reported shoulder sprain, the Cavaliers need all the scoring they can get. Having a player you can rely on to come off the bench and account for 15-20 points is vital for any team.

And what some do not even realize, is Clarkson is only 26 years old. There is still plenty of room for him to grow and improve his overall game. Clarkson does not seem likely to be a traditional point guard, which is okay, especially in today’s NBA.

Clarkson is turning into the guy Cleveland can turn to when they need a bucket, though.

Something else Clarkson is beginning to see is more double-teams thrown his way. This means that teams are scheming against Clarkson and trying to throw him off his game.

Cleveland can use this to their advantage, if Clarkson is able to make the right reads and utilize himself being a decoy to get other players open looks and punish the defense.

Is Clarkson a franchise cornerstone piece? No. But what he is, and what he can be in the future, is a sixth man who can come off the bench and spark the second unit. Often times teams are in need of that bench scorer to jump-start the second unit, and it looks like Cleveland already has their sixth man.