The Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling to find a rhythm this season, to say the least. In fact, they’ve lost 11 games in a row and their 8-34 overall record is currently the worst mark in the NBA. Despite those facts, Cavs sixth man Jordan Clarkson says the team is still working on ways to improve.
Following Wednesday night’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Clarkson noted that the Cavs have been working on layups and three-pointers more than anything in practice. Per Chris Fedor of cleveland.com:
“In all of our practices and shootarounds we preach layups and 3-pointers,” Clarkson said. “Try not to take too many mid-range jumpshots. That’s just something we have been preaching these last couple of weeks.”
The Cavs were hot from the three-point line through the early stages of Wednesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Cleveland went 8-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, which was the most they had knocked down in any quarter this season.
The Cavs familiar second half woes reared its ugly head in the end, though. Led by Anthony Davis’ 38-point outburst, the Pelicans managed to carry the day, 140-124.
Over the last five games, the Cavs rank sixth in made triples, averaging 12.6 per game. They are a respectable 12th in 3-point frequency, according to the stat-driven website Cleaning the Glass. During that same stretch, the Cavs are hitting an impressive 43.8 percent, which is good for the second-best mark in the league.
Clarkson has played well through the first half of this season and, to be frank, he’s become nothing less than a primary scoring option for the Cavs. In 41 appearances, he’s racked up averages of 17.3 points on 46.0 percent shooting from the field (34.1 percent from beyond the arc), 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
The Cavs will be back in action on Friday night, when they’ll travel to Houston for a matchup against the Rockets. Tip-off inside the Toyota Center is set for 8:00 p.m. ET with FOX Sports Ohio having live broadcast coverage.
