Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton decided to start young talent against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at Staples Center. Walton went with a really young starting five unit but there was no point guard Jordan Clarkson in it. Instead, the coach decided to give a shot to -- D'Angelo Russell, David Nwaba, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, and Ivica Zubac. The average age of those five players listed above sees a number of 21.
Clarkson has played in 66 games for the Lakers this season, collecting three starts for the team. He brings a spark off the bench for L.A.
and has some responsibilities on his back when he enters a game. On the season, the 24-year-old is averaging 14.3 points along with 2.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Coach Walton wanted to change nothing there on Sunday
Jordan Clarkson and Luke Walton had a chat prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers, and it was well explained to the player by the coach. Clarkson had a great performance, putting up a career-high 30 points and adding eight rebounds and six assists as well against the 76ers. Praise from coach Walton didn't go missing after the clash.
''Tonight he put it all together obviously,'' Walton told reporters of Jordan Clarkson post-game, in an interview which can be found on the Lakers Nation YouTube channel.
''He was really good. There were few times that he had open guys that he'd try to force a shot, he'd instantly look over to the bench and acknowledge that that was his mistake. So that's even great to see him aware of the fact of what we are talking about when it comes to scoring and playmaking."
''That's why I told him before the game that we will start David (Nwaba) and not him -- because I really wanted to keep him on the ball, playing a lot of those many minutes as a primarily ball handler, which won't be the case in starting group.
I thought he did a great job tonight of scoring when appropriate and playmaking when appropriate.''
The decision turned out well
Jordan Clarkson had a memorable night. A performance like this should make Clarkson feel good and coming off the bench is maybe something which he feels comfortable with. Going forward, it remains to be seen if the point guard will start in any of the remaining 16 Laker games.
