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by TFIR
Is Jordan Clarkson the kind of player a contender would want? Final Thoughts
By Joe Vardon 6h ago 6
TORONTO — Twenty-one thoughts for 21 points by Toronto’s OG Anunoby in the Cavaliers’ 126-110 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
1. Jordan Clarkson is, in at least one key way, enjoying a career year. His 16.9-points-per-game average is the highest of his five pro seasons, and he’s never averaged fewer than 11.9 points. He’s shooting more shots (14.9) and 3s (5.2) than ever, his free-throw percentage is a career best (.851) and those rebounds (3.5) are the second most of his career. He’s making the most of a bad situation. He’s been doing that for most of his career, too.
2. “I would say I block most of it out in terms of wins and losses, stuff like that,” said Clarkson, who led the Cavs in scoring Friday with 20 points. “Still come in here trying to improve every day. … Definitely, don’t want to continue to keep losing like this for a long time, but just trying to get better every day and keep grinding.”
3. Clarkson is the Cavs’ leading scorer this season, in no small part because Kevin Love has only played four games. A second starter counted on for big buckets, Rodney Hood, is cruising along with 12.9 points per game. Clarkson, meanwhile, is third in the NBA among bench scorers. But the team, well, the team is 8-25 now.
4. Clarkson spent 3 ½ years with the Lakers. Their best year was last when they were 22-31 when they traded him and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavs. In Clarkson’s first three seasons in Los Angeles, his team won 26, 17, and 21 games.
5. Obviously, the only time Clarkson’s been a part of any sustained winning was last year, upon being traded to LeBron’s Cavs. The playoffs were his first, which makes Cleveland’s Finals berth his first, too. He struggled mightily in the postseason, averaging just 4.7 points and shooting .301 from the field and .239 from 3-point range. Clarkson’s talked a lot about this, about not getting used to not knowing when or if shots are going to come, about being shaken by opponents game-planning for him in a series, and yeah, about the pressure of playing with LeBron. Clarkson’s not going to get another chance in the playoffs this season unless a contender comes calling with a trade offer. Clarkson isn’t angling to be moved, but the right offer would probably pry him from Cleveland.
6. Clarkson is 26. He’s making $12.5 million this season and $13.4 million the next — which is his last year. A team that would take him now, as opposed to next year, when his sizable salary is on an expiring contract, would have to decide who Clarkson is. In the meantime, Clarkson’s left to try and keep another losing season from wearing on him.
7. “Just don’t even think about it to be honest with you,” he said. “Think about the next game or kind of move on from it, learn from it and just put it past you.”
8. Yeah, I could say a lot of the same stuff about Nance, who came over with Clarkson and therefore has had just one, tiny taste of winning in the NBA. One, the Cavs gave him a four-year, $45 million extension. Two, he lost half a tooth Friday night when Pascal Siakam’s shoulder or elbow crashed into his chin. So I’m giving him a break.
9. “Apparently my chin fouled him,” said Nance, who was indeed whistled for a foul on the play — which happened at the start of the second half. Nance didn’t lose the full tooth, but it was a bad chip and he’ll be seeing a dentist Saturday. He finished the game and produced 16 points and 12 boards.
10. This was not a banner night for the Cavaliers. Toronto was missing All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, and starters Danny Green and Serge Ibaka. Actually, eight of the 11 players the Raptors used Friday had spent at least some time with Toronto’s G-League affiliate. One of the guys who didn’t was Kawhi Leonard, who killed the Cavs with 37 points.
11. “Well we’re giving him different matchups, and then just mix our zones up,” Cavs coach Larry Drew explained. “Whether we go man, whether we go zone, just to take it out of his hands at times and then recognize, which I thought we didn’t do a good job, as far as just containing him on the drive. He was able to get, I don’t know how many and-1s he got … Just too many.”
12. Leonard shot 12-of-16 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line. And, let’s see here, yes, five and-1s for Leonard, all in the second half. He scored 24 and 34 points against the Cavs in the first two games against the Raptors this season.
13. This was not a banner night for the Cavs because while Leonard does indeed play for Toronto, and the Raptors do own the best record in the NBA, missing three starters is tough. Don’t forget, Jonas Valanciunas is also out. Toronto still scored 66 points in the paint.
14. This was not a banner night because while Cleveland was also missing two of its top players in Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, the Cavs’ bench was a much stronger group than what the Raptors threw out there. And Cleveland’s reserves outscored their Toronto counterparts, 53-31.
15. I’ve been saying it all season — for the Cavs to have had a chance this year, one of the things that needed to happen was Rodney Hood needed to be good. He took four shots Friday and finished with six points in 18 minutes. It’s just nowhere close to what the Cavs would need on a night like this. After the game, Drew said Hood was dealing with a foot injury, and Hood clarified that his left Achilles was sore. He said he’d been dealing with the injury since the Indiana game Tuesday.
16. Another Cavs starter, David Nwaba, twisted his left ankle in the second quarter. He tried to play in the second half, but “he just wasn’t effective with it,” Drew said.
17. “Both guys, obviously they’re a big part of what we do — they’re starters,” Drew said. “We had to kind of switch some things up after either guy was having problems. We gave it our best go.”
18. Collin Sexton fouled out for the first time as a pro. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting. This was game no. 33 for Sexton and the Cavs — the same number Sexton played in his only season at Alabama. Drew was asked if Sexton’s recent struggles meant he had hit the proverbial “rookie wall.”
19. “Could be,” Drew said. “But if it is, I want him to learn to push through it. This is his first year, this is not an easy thing to do. Night in, night out going against elite guards, but that’s the NBA.”
20. Matthew Dellavedova broke his string of consecutive games with at least 10 points. For the first time since re-joining the Cavs, he scored eight (with six assists). Cedi Osman, meanwhile, recorded his career-best fourth game with at least 10 points, registering 12.
21. The Bulls visit Sunday. Like the Raptors, they’re short-handed. Otherwise, they’re very much unlike the Raptors. Cleveland and Chicago are tied for the NBA’s worst record, a half-game worse than Phoenix.
(Top photo: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today Sports)
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain