Lakers First Quarter Awards: Sixth Man of the Quarter; Jordan Clarkson
This offseason there was a lot of chatter surrounding Jordan Clarkson. He was involved in a ton of trade rumors as the Lakers looked to shed salary. Many people believed he could be an addition to trade to shed an albatross of a contract much like D’Angelo Russell was added to a package with Timofey Mozgov.
Clarkson was held onto through the offseason, and the Lakers have to be happy with that decision. With Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added in the offseason, Clarkson was relegated to the second unit and he has thrived.
Clarkson has had a great start to the season as the sixth man. He has embraced his role off the bench and it has resulted in great results. Clarkson is playing career-low minutes per game but is having arguably the best season of his career.
In only 22.8 minutes per game, Clarkson is averaging 14.8 points on 47.9 percent shooting and a career-high 35.9 percent from 3-point land. He is also averaging 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.7 steals per game.
Clarkson has put himself squarely in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year. He has improved his efficiency and has settled into the bench role magnificently. The Lakers are getting great production from Clarkson despite the limited minutes.