Do the Utah Jazz have a Jordan Clarkson problem?
Let’s be honest: Utah Jazz fans who read this page may be tiring of Jordan Clarkson criticism. To them, we say this: we don’t enjoy picking on Clarkson. We truly don’t. He’s a likeable guy, he’s an undeniably talented basketball player, and most importantly, he’s a Jazzman. It’s that last point that forces us, in the spirit of objectivity, to repeatedly admit that he’s having a truly terrible season.
We’re 17 games into this NBA season. Clarkson has played well twice. He’s so frequently featured on the wrong end of our usual “studs and duds” piece that we’re beginning to type his name instinctually.
He might just be in the midst of a brutal slump. The problem is, we’ve seen this before from Clarkson.
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is prone to inefficiency
Last year was Clarkson’s second in Salt Lake City, and Jazz faithful understandably fell in love. All told, he finished the season scoring 18.4 points per game while shooting a reasonably efficient 42.5% from the field and 34.7% from three-point range en route to his first Sixth Man of the Year award.
On the surface, it was a remarkably successful season for the 6-year pro. However, Clarkson’s tendency to shoot without regard for consequences cost the Jazz as the season wore on. He went into the All-Star break with an effective field goal percentage (eFG%) of 58%. Unfortunately, his eFG% dipped to 49% throughout the second half of the season, and he brought that inefficiency into the playoffs with an 50.9 eFG%.
As anyone reading this probably knows, the slump has not ceased. His 44.4 eFG% in 2021-22 to-date is nothing short of putrid. Unfortunately, while his career eFG% of 50.5% is an improvement on his current season mark, it doesn’t inspire confidence either.
His inconsistency is concerning. It’s almost unfathomable that he’d go this entire season without heating up. He won’t shoot 26.3% on 9.3 three-point attempts per game for the entire year. However, there should be real concern among Utah Jazz fans that he’ll heat up only to cool down again when it really matters: in the playoffs.
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson may be necessary to team anyway
When we suggested a Clarkson-for-Marcus Smart swap before, commenters rightly pointed out that the Jazz are already short on shot creation. It’s a fair point. On the other hand, how much value does shot creation have when those shots refuse to drop?
Mike Conley is a shot creator, but doesn’t have quite the same from-scratch chops that Clarkson possesses. Donovan Mitchell does, but he is only one man. Otherwise, this roster is full of players who are built to thrive alongside primary shot creators, so it is true that removing one of the only two such players on the roster would be problematic.
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Unfortunately, this dynamic may present the Utah Jazz with a bit of a Sophie’s Choice: rely on a notoriously unreliable shot creator, or lose too much shot creation altogether.