Los Angeles Lakers News: Jordan Clarkson considered as team's best player so far, Kobe Bryant discusses his 20th NBA season
Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson is being considered as the team's best player, so far, while veteran franchise player Kobe Bryant talks about his 20th NBA season in full detail.
The Lakers are holding an abysmal record so far, ranking them low in the Western Conference standings. But despite their rough start, the 23-year old Clarkson has managed to be the team's bright spot.
In a report by Michael Pina for Bleacher Report, Clarkson has been putting up the best numbers so far, and is the leader in total minutes, points, and shots.
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"According to Basketball-Reference.com, among players who average at least 30 minutes per game, Clarkson is one of four who are making at least 44 percent of their threes and 45 percent of their overall field goals," Pina wrote.
For his part, Clarkson says he is merely trying to make his life on the court easier by picking his shots intelligently.
"I'm trying to knock down the open ones. The easy ones when I have the opportunity, worrying about taking good shots instead of bad shots," he explained. "I'm continuing to grow in that area."
Meanwhile, Clarkson's teammate Kobe Bryant is currently playing his 20th and possibly final NBA season. Having been plagued by injuries the past years, Bryant was forced to observe from the sidelines and let his younger teammates take care of business.
He spoke about it further in a recent interview with NBA.com, focusing on three names: D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson.
"Just trying to teach them to play championship-style basketball. It's so easy for them to just get the ball individually and attack," Bryant said. "But if you get in that habit, you're never going to win. I know; I had to break those habits myself. So I'm just trying to help them figure that out."
Bryant recently announced his intent to possibly retire after the 2015-2016 season. But as for the moment, he intends to focus on being more of a mentor to his teammates.
"To teach; get these guys learning how to play the right way, championship-style basketball," he said. "I never focused on proving (the media) wrong. I knew you guys were wrong from the beginning."
