For years, the New York Knicks have struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball when Jalen Brunson has been found taking a breather on the sidelines. The 2025-26 campaign is sadly no different.
Without The Captain on the floor, the team ranks in the 56 percentile in points per 100 possessions, the 51 percentile in effective field goal percentage, and boasts a mere 113.2 offensive rating, which would rank in as the ninth-worst in the entire association.
Despite these clear struggles, coach Mike Brown may, in fact, have a possible solution to this drop-off in scoring efficiency already on his roster, and he's recently pieced together a convincing case for himself.
Jordan Clarkson could be what Knicks need to uplift secondary offense
Jordan Clarkson has been on an absolute tear as of late, dropping 27 points on his former employers, the Utah Jazz, while averaging 12.7 points on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor and 43.8 percent shooting from deep all within a span of six games.
Though his productivity has been incredibly sporadic throughout his debut campaign in the Big Apple, with his proven track record as a Sixth Man of the Year coupled with his recent surge, the veteran is without question the best-equipped backcourt player on this roster to come close to mimicking the scoring style of Brunson when he's on the pine.
Both are isolation-heavy players who lean on their expertise in creating space off the dribble to buy buckets.
Over the five seasons coming into this one, Clarkson found himself riding high on sensational averages of 17.8 points per game while predominantly coming off the bench, and ranked in the top-50 in isolation points-per-game in his last four.
Just last season, he ranked 28 in such a category among those who played over 35 games.
Yes, Clarkson has certainly built up a reputation throughout his 12-year career as a streaky player. At times, he'll look virtually unplayable, while on other occasions, he's looked like a bona fide star.
In order to achieve their ultimate goal of winning an NBA Championship this year, the Knicks will need the spark plug to look like the latter, for, when in rhythm, he's truly their ultimate secret weapon.
It's no surprise that his play of late has coincided with an undefeated record and a ridiculous 133.9 offensive rating without Brunson on the floor. Their 121.4 rating with Clarkson on the floor, meanwhile, ranks fourth among those who have played in five or more games.
Nine months after putting pen to paper on his deal with the Knicks, it seems the vet may finally be taking on the role Leon Rose and company always hoped he could.