KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The numbers 8 and 24 are coincidentally rooted in and sprinkled throughout the rules of basketball. They’re also the jersey numbers worn by Kobe Bryant during his 20 year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, the last two years overlapping with Utah Jazz sixth man Jordan Clarkson.
Clarkson had idolized Bryant growing up and was beside himself when Bryant went from idol, to teammate, to mentor and eventually friend.
On what would have been Bryant’s 42nd birthday, Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points in the Jazz’s Game 4 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Coincidence? Maybe. Meaningful? Definitely.
“Still can’t believe that he’s gone,” Clarkson said on Monday, Aug. 24, a day that the Los Angeles City Council had declared Kobe Bryant Day. “He’s definitely missed every day.”
Prior to the Jazz’s first-round matchup, Clarkson’s playoff high in points had been 12. Through the four games against the Nuggets Clarkson has scored 18, 26, 11, and 24 points.
Clarkson has been on the receiving end of a ton of criticism over the years and often is the butt of jokes, many of which allude to his propensity for scoring or playing in isolation.
Jordan Clarkson is Jordan Clarkson’s biggest fan.
Jordan Clarkson has never seen a shot he doesn’t like.
“It’s Jordan Clarkson time.” — Jordan Clarkson
But the jokes and the criticism don’t come from his teammates, who are the first ones to sing his praises.
“Every great team has a guy like JC, a guy that you know you can count on to come in and change the momentum of games with his scoring ability, with his playmaking,” Mike Conley said Sunday night. “He’s getting to the paint, looking for guys in the corner, looking for guys on drop passes down low, I mean, all that stuff is just showing you the growth of him during this series. So the more of that we get from him, the better we are.”
Overshadowed by the focus on Clarkson’s bucket-getting ability and his skill set in isolation is the fact that he’s grown on the defensive end and has become an adept playmaker who facilitates at a high level.
“(Coach Quin Snyder) having my back has meant the world to me. It makes me want to just go out there and run through a wall for him and for my teammates.” — Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson
Clarkson has consistently become a player that opposing coaches talk about, that is high on the scouting report and who is appreciated for extra efforts on plays.
“He’s been as committed and made the defensive end important not just with effort but with trying to understand everything that we’re trying to do schematically,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said Monday. “He’s had a huge impact on our team, on our chemistry, our connection. Everybody likes JC, and it’s more than likes him, people appreciate him. It’s not often as a coach that you get to coach a guy that’s as authentic as he is and I love coaching him.”
In a very short time Clarkson endeared himself to this Jazz team, to the fans and to the coaching staff after joining the team in December. Snyder’s belief and confidence in Clarkson is visible and made for an easy transition when Clarkson was traded to the team and is directly linked to the way that Clarkson has performed.
“Him having my back has meant the world to me,” Clarkson said of Snyder. “It makes me want to just go out there and run through a wall for him and for my teammates.”
While his teammates and Snyder all value and respect Clarkson’s game on both ends of the floor, there is no denying his offensive impact. And while an isolation and drive-heavy game can often be looked down upon, in the playoffs, those plays are so necessary.
In Sunday’s Game 4, the Nuggets made a concerted effort to take away pull-up 3s from the Jazz and to force them to play an interior offense. That meant there were a lot of driving and late shot clock opportunities for the Jazz. Having a teammate that thrives in exactly those situations, as Conley said, is something that every team needs.
“You know it’s a breath of fresh air, not just for myself but for the entire team, to have a guy that wants the ball with four seconds on the clock, the guy that can just take it ‘iso’ and get buckets any way he can,” Mitchell said. “He’s been a really unsung hero here ... he’s playing out of his mind.”
While it may be true that Clarkson has been glossed over in the wake of two 50-plus point performances from Mitchell, the emergence of Conley as a steadying presence for the Jazz, and the reminder of how important Rudy Gobert and Royce O’Neale are to the defensive fabric of the team, he knows he is appreciated and that the Jazz need him if they want to continue their playoff run.