To everyone’s surprise, the Utah Jazz is on to a great start. From a very underrated cast comes an unexpectedly good run in the regular season. The Jazz GM Danny Ainge could have been thinking of rebuilding, but now that everybody on the roster is showing up and are continuing to deliver, there might be some change of plans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvBXfUDEoBA
Two of the key factors in Utah Jazz winning games are Lauri Markannen and Jordan Clarkson. Markannen is making a case as a potential All-Star and a clear frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award. On the other hand, the former 6th man of the year, Jordan Clarkson, could finally get a nod to the All-Star selection. But, is his performance good enough as an All-Star reserve? Let’s find out
Western Conference All-Stars
To begin with, if not injured, these are the names of guards in the West that are certainly going to be selected in the All-Star game:
- Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
- Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
- Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
- Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns)
- Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers)
The list goes on and there are even others who are also flirting to become reserves like De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), and Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves). Please take note that most of them are statistically better than Clarkson but they aren’t really winning anything for their respective teams. Because of that, Jordan Clarkson must battle very hard to reach the All-Star level. Let’s weigh in on how he could be selected for the 2023 All-Star game.
How the All-Star voting works
According to new NBA rules, All-Star starters (2 backcourt and 3 frontcourt players) are determined by a combination of three groups of voters. Fans (50%), current players (25%), and the media (25%).
Each conference is qualified to pick 12 players. Aside from the two starting line-ups, the reserves will be hand-picked by the 30 NBA coaches. For the reserves, the coaches must select two backcourts, three frontcourts, and two other players of any position per conference.
Related: NBA: Top 6 potential first-time All-Stars this season (2022-2023)
Let’s discuss all the factors on Jordan Clarkson’s potential to be an All-Star this season.
- Win-Loss record
- Season averages
- Fan votes
Win-Loss record
Most of the time, a player usually gets an advantage when his team is above 0.500. Take note: usually, but not all the time.
Talented players on winning teams mostly get the nod over great athletes on losing clubs. The Utah Jazz is currently the best team in the West (9-3) and judging by how the Utah Jazz is doing, they could win more games by the All-Star break.
Season averages
JC is a reliable shooting guard who can give you 18-5-5 a night. This season, he seems to be replicating his averages when he won the 6th Man of the Year award. He’s doing great and becoming a borderline All-Star but Gilgeous-Alexander and Fox are putting up better numbers than Clarkson.
Clarkson’s stats this season:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG % | 3P FG% |
| 18.4 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 44.4 | 42.1 |
This season, he is averaging a career-high in points, assists, rebounds, and blocks plus he is shooting very well from behind the arc.
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Fan votes
Because of his excellent performance in Utah, Clarkson is making headlines every time they win a game. Not only that, he has a huge Filipino fan base due to being a half-Filipino himself. In line with that, it wouldn’t be very surprising if JC gets more fan votes than the likes of Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, and many others.
Conclusion
Based on the number of guards in the Western Conference that are locked in the All-Star game, Clarkson’s chance of being selected as an All-Star might be slim. However, he is only getting better and as early as now, he is already showing flashes of an All-Star guard.
If they continue to win and increase his productivity by a bit, his chances could go relatively higher. Remember when Dejounte Murray and Lamelo Ball were selected as replacements last year? They were producing almost the same numbers as JC this season. The only difference is, Clarkson is in a winning team in the league while the two guys mentioned were just on mediocre teams. That being said, we firmly believe Clarkson is going to the All-Star game in February 2023. And, since the venue is in Vivint Arena in Utah, this could mean that the league could pick at least one Utah Jazz player to play in the All-Star game – whether it be Lauri Markkanen or Jordan Clarkson.
Do you agree that Jordan Clarkson will finally be an All-Star this year? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. For more content, stay with us, here at Spiel Times.
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