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SALT LAKE CITY — Bojan Bogdanovic had just four points in the first half, Rudy Gobert had only five, and the Jazz were giving up offensive rebounds with maddening regularity.
That all seemed like a recipe for disaster.
When the Jazz haven’t had their best players play like their best players, things have gotten away from them fast — especially on the road (think back to the 40-point deficit in Toronto as an example— and well, pretty much any time the Jazz have faced a good team on the road).
But on Saturday in Los Angeles, things were different.
First, the Jazz were incredibly hot from 3-point range (going 10 of 20 from deep in the first half). And second, they had Jordan Clarkson.
Clarkson had 13 points in the opening half and was part of two key runs in the second quarter to help keep the Jazz in the game. He scored five points during a 15-6 spurt early in the quarter, and then had six points and an assist as part of a 9-0 run that pulled the Jazz within two near the end of the half.
He helped steady the Jazz from the bench. That’s the type of player the Jazz have been lacking all season.
“He plays with a lot of passion,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “Dialed-in in timeouts. To be this new to the group and be as focused as he is on helping us win. He's not out there thinking about, 'I've got to score.' That's something that comes to him. He's thinking about winning.”
There hasn't been a lot of winning for Clarkson during his NBA career. Outside of one NBA Finals run with the LeBron James-led Cavs, he's only been on lottery-bound teams. So the chance to be in Utah, to be in a winning culture, and on a team with high expectations, is a welcome one.
“I’m just happy for the opportunity. Come in here and playing and competing,” Clarkson said after his first game with the Jazz.
He added that his new teammates are “special guys” and that it's “definitely nice to be a part of" the Jazz.
The feeling looks to be mutual.
Clarkson finished the game as Utah’s second-leading scorer with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The last time a Jazz bench player scored that many points in a game was when Jeff Green had 19 on Dec. 7 against Memphis — nine games ago.
Clarkson's scoring punch is needed. But he’s trying to show he’s more than just a player that can get buckets. And so far, his new coach has noticed that too.
“He competes,” Snyder said. “I think anytime you've got an NBA special talent — which for him, he's able to score the ball — you can get focused on that. And I think he's got a lot of pride as a basketball player. He knows defense is important to us. It's not like he's questioning any of that. He's trying to guard, and guys respect that and who he is as a player.”
