Who is letting Jordan Clarkson shoot the ball 20 times for the Utah Jazz?

There’s no reason, ever, that Jordan Clarkson should have more shots than Lauri Markkanen.

What is Will Hardy doing? He’s putting Walker Kessler on the bench when he’s needed most, he’s playing guys who can’t play defense when the team needs stops, and playing guys who can’t hit the backboard when they need offense. But the biggest and most perplexing situation involves the usage of Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson is shooting just 36% from the floor this season, and just 35% from three. Considering he’s just a 44% career shooter to begin with, it’d be wise to limit his shots, even more so with his recent struggles.

And yet, while he’s struggling to hit the backboard this season, for some reason Hardy has let Clarkson take 20 shots against the Orlando Magic. Clarkson, the guy who’s notoriously a streaky shooter and has been bad for most of the young season, took three more shots than the team’s star, Lauri Markkanen.

Clarkson shot just 25% from the floor and had six turnovers. That’s a lot of bad offensive possessions that the Jazz gave away by letting Clarkson take the ball. Yet Markkanen, who shot 53% from the floor, shot three fewer shots than Clarkson.

Leaving us to ask what Hardy was doing with his game plan. It’s not like the Orlando Magic, who got the 115-113 win over the Jazz on Thursday, are a great defensive team. They could’ve schemed more shots for Markkanen. He’s great at coming off a pick and roll, but for some reason, the Jazz opted to just let their score-first guards do just that.

This team needs a real point guard. Yes, they’re fifth in the league in assists, a good sign, they’re also fifth in the league in turnovers as well. That’s unacceptable if you expect this team to compete for the playoffs.

And if there’s one person in particular that is the biggest problem, it’s specifically, Clarkson. He’s in the top 20 in turnovers per game heading into Thursday’s game against the Magic, and after he’s averaging just shy of four per game. That puts him in the Top 10 per game in the NBA. He’s already had three games of five turnovers or more in just six outings.

Clarkson isn’t the guy the team needs in this role. The Jazz need to refocus and alter their efforts. If Clarkson has the green light, Hardy needs to revoke it. He’s doing so much more harm than good right now and until he’s able to get his shot right, the team can’t keep letting him pooch 20 possessions per game with either turnovers or missed shots.