In what’s been a largely disappointing Cleveland Cavaliers season, guard Jordan Clarkson has emerged as one of the few bright spots.
Jordan Clarkson, who was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Los Angeles Lakers at last year’s NBA trade deadline, is the team’s leading scorer despite coming off the bench.
Overall, Clarkson’s 2018-2019 campaign has been very impressive, especially considering the lack of talent around him. He is averaging a career-high with 16.8 points with a career-best effective field goal percentage of 51.0 percent while averaging 26.6 minutes a night off the pine, per NBA.com. The fifth-year guard has also emerged as the closer for the Cavs, on the rare occasion they’re in a position to close out a win.
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In terms of NBA individual bench scoring totals, Clarkson is second in the league, trailing just two-time Sixth Man of the Year, Lou Williams, of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Clarkson anchors a bench unit that accounts for 43.1 points per night, which is good for seventh in the NBA, per NBA.com. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench led by Clarkson, and fellow ex-Laker, Larry Nance Jr., has been a strength all year.
In order to keep one of the few strengths intact, head coach Larry Drew would be wise to continue to bring Clarkson off the pine. As alluded to above, Clarkson is amongst the best in the NBA at what he does. If the Cavs were contenders, Clarkson could be a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
With both wings Rodney Hood and Alec Burks having been reportedly traded recently, the Cavs are thin in depth. David Nwaba got the first start after the trades of Hood and Burks and played well. As long as he’s healthy, Nwaba should continue to get the starting nod.
Inserting Clarkson in the starting lineup, as was reportedly being considered on Thursday by Drew, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, could be a little bit of a boost but overall be a net-negative.
Clarkson would take away shots from the developing Cedi Osman, who is currently injured and is dealing with a reported ankle injury, but when he comes back, could be hampered playing more with Clarkson, and Sexton, with no one coming in off the bench that can realistically create their own offense.
Games could get out of hand even more than they do now when both teams go to their second unit. Clarkson often keeps the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense treading water when the starters are out. Having Clarkson come off the bench and provide instant offense has been critical for the young Cavs.
While it may be tempting to insert Clarkson and his instant scoring ability, at this juncture he’s better suited to come off the bench and anchor a solid second unit.
Ultimately, he was brought off the bench last night against the Washington Wizards, but the point still remains. Clarkson should continue coming off the bench to bring Cleveland that much-needed spark.