Jordan Clarkson's most recent game was his best in a New York Knicks jersey yet. He came up huge against the Miami Heat on an NBA Cup night. The Knicks went into Friday without Jalen Brunson and lost OG Anunoby five minutes into the game. But Clarkson, an unexpected offseason addition, showed again that he's the exact piece the team needed off of the bench.
Clarkson played 33 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet in the win. The 33-year-old scored 24 points on 6-13 shooting with six of those tries coming from downtown. He converted on three of his six 3-point attempts which helped the Knicks to a clean 40% as a team.
New York did not get much scoring from their bench last season, which ranked last in points per game. They didn't get much from their bench at all, because they averaged the least minutes of any team in the NBA.
Head coach Mike Brown's bench played the 20th-most minutes in the league through Saturday. The 8-4 Knicks have gotten an average 36.6 points per game from their backups thus far, tied for 16th with the Portland Trail Blazers and their second unit. Through 12 games, Clarkson leads New York's improved bench in scoring, pouring in 10.3 of those points per game.
Clarkson needs to keep driving with Brunson out
The veteran guard also showed off his ability to get into the paint. This has become even more essential to the Knicks' offense for as long as Brunson is out. Clarkson's dribble-drive penetration helps Brown's offense despite him typically being seen as more of an isolation scorer than a 'read-and-react' fit. His nine of eleven performance at the free throw line on Friday, when no other Knick shot 10 or more free throws, showed this clearly.
Clarkson is averaging the fifth-most drives on the Knicks through their first 12 games. His 5.5 drives per game trail just Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, Brunson, and Anunoby. It makes sense that the team's marquee starters lead them in average rim-attacks, but it should also come as no surprise that Clarkson is right behind them.
The veteran bucket-getter had an 87th-percentile free throw rate last season, his final as a member of the Utah Jazz. He was in the 93rd percentile of non-shooting fouls drawn according to Cleaning the Glass. It's clear he brought his ability to pressure the rim offensively with him to the Big Apple.
Brunson is sixth in the NBA in drives per game through Saturday with 16.7 on average through the 11 games he's played in thus far. Clarkson likely won't match that volume, especially coming off of the bench. But for the rest of the season, and especially for as long as Brunson is out, he should keep taking it to the rack.