Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has impressed in his short time as a Jazzman. What grade does he get midway through the season?
When the Utah Jazz bench was floundering in comparison to the rest of the league, the front office decided they needed to change something before the playoffs.
Through the first 30 games of the season, the Jazz had the worst offensive rating in the league when playing in second quarters. Their bench during that stretch played the third least amount of minutes in the league, meaning the starters were getting overworked.
When it takes 35+ minutes a night from Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell just to squeak by mediocre and bad teams, that’s a bad sign.
On the evening of December 23rd, Utah traded away Dante Exum and a couple future picks in exchange for Jordan Clarkson. At the time it was obvious Dante wasn’t ever going to leave Quin Snyder’s dog house and get meaningful minutes.
Since Clarkson has joined the Wasatch Front, here’s how the Jazz have been different:
- they own the 10th best offensive rating in the second quarter among NBA teams
- their bench ranks 17th in points per game
- their bench has the ninth best net rating in the league
Sure, it’s only a 14 game sample size and against a bunch of mediocre teams, but for what it’s worth the Jazz have a 14-1 record since they acquired Clarkson. I think it’s safe to say the Jazz are the early winners of this trade from Cleveland, although with time the scale could be tipped even.
How has Clarkson been so good for the Jazz?