Jordan Clarkson was part of the trade that sent Isaiah Thomas from Cleveland to Los Angeles and landed him as one of Lebron James teammates. Clarkson at the time of the trade was one of the better 6th man in the league for the Lakers. He lead the league in bench scoring at 13.9 points per game last season.
Upon the trade his average dropped to an abysmal 4.7 points per game in the playoffs. His time in Cleveland was his first taste of the postseason and he seemed like he didn’t belong, as he fail out of the rotation for the majority of the postseason.
According to an interview done with Cleveland.com, Clarkson saw the drop in production and self evaluated his performance. He saw room to improve and mentioned:
Clarkson said he needed to “slow down” when he was on the court in the playoffs, looking for the open man and considering the defense in front of him instead of hurrying toward a shot.
He also alluded to his inexperience in postseason play and felt that he could use some more work on his body to be able to withstand the rigors of a long season into the playoffs. Clarkson has hired a new trainer that will help him get his diet and body ready for a long season as he predicts that Cleveland will be making a return to the playoffs even after Lebron’s departure. According to Clarkson:
“I feel like we’re going to shock a lot of people this year just because LeBron left,” Clarkson said. “I feel great about the team, coaching staff. They got a lot of belief in guys, so I’m just ready to strap it up and get ready for the season now.”
We’ll see if the Cavs will make a return to postseason play following the change in his diet and workout regiment. Flip the page for video of Clarkson’s speaking on his confidence during the Cavs series versus the Celtics and his new postseason experience.