Cleveland Cavaliers: Three players that could start slow in 2019-20

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Cleveland Cavaliers Jordan Clarkson (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

#2: Jordan Clarkson

After Jordan Clarkson had a forgettable postseason run with the Cavaliers in 2018, expectations for Cleveland’s sixth man last season were limited.

Clarkson turned out to be one of the most prolific bench scorers in 2018-19, though, and truly flipped that script.

While the Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams led the NBA last season in bench scoring among regular bench players last season (per NBA.com), Clarkson finished tied for third in that category with 16.8 points per game on 53.9% true shooting.

That clip also included him hitting 32.4% of his shots from three-point range, for reference.

A February game last year against the Brooklyn Nets, where Clarkson had a career-high 42 points, really showed his full array.

Here’s highlights of that outing, via Free Dawkins.

The feeling on Clarkson is the polar opposite of last season, and while he will likely have the same role this year, his scoring output (his real value) could be affected negatively early on.

Clarkson is a dynamic scorer, that can hit an outside shot with some regularity, or more often, get to the hoop.

But his game is predicated on having the ball in his hands to create offense. Clarkson can play off the ball, but it is not his forte.

Where he could run into a problem this season is that the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted a lead guard this year in Darius Garland, and have another promising guard that is predominantly an on-ball player in Sexton.

What this potentially means for Clarkson is that he will likely have to play off the ball more.

Also, with Clarkson fresh off of a career year, he could start pressing out of the gate to prove last year was not a fluke, and with him being on an expiring contract, in particular.

The hope is that even if Clarkson begins the year slow, he would be able to work out the kinks and build off his successful season a year ago.

If that turns out to be the case, perhaps it would help increase or at least solidify his potential trade value if that’s what the Cavs want to do eventually, too.