Ranking the Utah Jazz’s FIBA 5 after the first two rounds of the tournament
By Chad Porto
Team Philippines’ Jordan Clarkson – Point Guard/Shooting Guard
Per Game Average – 35.9 minutes, 26 points (41.1% overall, 48.5% from TWO, 29.3% from THREE, 83.3 FT) 5.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, -3.4 BPM, 19.2 EFF
Credit where it’s due, Jordan Clarkson delivered. While no one should be happy with his shooting from behind the arc, some of the best three-point shooters in the NBA struggled to put up good numbers all tournament long. This is possibly due to the FIBA three-point line being closer and players not being accustomed to the change.
You’d think it’d be easier to shoot if the line was closer to the rim, but you have to change up your shooting motion so much that it can in fact be challenging, especially in a truncated amount of time.
Still, Clarkson played well, and even showed off an ability to pass the ball as the primary ball handler that many fans of the Utah Jazz have wondered about. Clarkson, like Kelly Olynyk, is one of the bigger trade assets the team has, but should they opt to keep him, he may make it possible to delay Keyonte George’s ascension to starting point guard, should the Jazz go in that direction.
The Philippines only won one game, but their star showed that he was more than capable of a bigger role with the Jazz.