Jordan Clarkson’s role with the New York Knicks’ started getting fazed out during the middle of January. After the team traded for Jose Alvarado, his spot in the rotation appeared to be gone forever. Fast forward nearly two months from his role reduction, and an avalanche of shooting slumps have paved the way for the 33-year-old to rejoin the ranks.
The floodgates for minutes may have officially opened during New York’s Sunday loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Desperate for someone, anyone, to make shots and generate offense, Mike Brown dusted off Clarkson. At that point, the veteran microwave scorer hadn’t logged more than seven minutes since before the All-Star break, during which time he racked up more DNPs than actual appearances.
It’d be a stretch to say Clarkson wowed in his court time. But he did go 3-of-4 from floor, and at a time when so many of his teammates seemed hesitant to shoot or couldn’t get anything going downhill, he flashed his trademark fearlessness, and short-term memory.Â
This could just be a one-off for him. The forces that led to Brown calling his number, on the other hand, have been anything but.
The Knicks need an offensive punchÂ
It is being somewhat lost amid New York’s recent success and overall defensive uptick, but the offense has lacked its usual oomph for a while. Alvarado’s struggles from beyond the arc represent a nice benchmark—for both him, and the entire team.
Ever since Grant Theft Alvarado went kaboom from deep against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks offense is a pedestrian 15th in points scored per possession, both overall and in the half-court. During this span, the team as a whole has hit just 34.7 percent of its threes, which ranks 17th.Â
Cold streaks galore are peppered throughout the roster over this stretch. Alvarado (16.1 percent), Mikal Bridges (34.2 percent), Josh Hart (23.5 percent), and OG Anunoby (35.8 percent) are all shooting noticeably worse from downtown than their season averages. More recently, Jalen Brunson’s own struggles have exacerbated the issue.Â
This is problematic for a Knicks team whose threat level is inextricably tied to knocking down threes at above-average clips. They have weathered some individual storms thanks to their defensive ascent and better play from Karl-Anthony Towns, but with their highest-volume three-point marksman sidelined (Deuce McBride), the offense is uniquely vulnerable to frigid spells.
New York’s struggles could be good news for ClarksonÂ
Now, it’s not as if Clarkson is a lights-out option from the floor. His wild swings and sub-33-percent clip on triples contributed to his being excised from the rotation.Â
Still, he is a professional bucket-getter—someone who won’t shy from getting shots up or putting the ball on the deck when he is struggling. That can often be to his team’s detriment. Right now, though, New York could use a little of that high-variance intrepidity.Â
For as dangerous as their offensive ranking says they are, the Knicks remain prone to bogging down. People complain about Brunson being too ball-dominant or score-first, but so much of his usage stems from the roster lacking reliably effective alternatives
According to BBall Index, just two players on the Knicks rate in the 70th percentile or better of both half-court shot creation, and self-created shot-making efficiency. One is Jalen Brunson. The other is Jordan Clarkson.Â
This doesn’t prove that JC should be playing 25-plus minutes a night. It is, however, evidence of why the Knicks neither traded him nor waived him. There’s a chance they might still need him.