Why New York Knicks’ Jordan Clarkson is due for a big playoff series
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The New York Knicks are playoff-bound. They efficiently secured the third seed within the Eastern Conference for the 2026 NBA Playoffs and can face the Atlanta Hawks within the first-round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.. And whereas Atlanta should not pose a great risk to New York, the Knicks will still need more offensively than what they’ve come to anticipate from Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunobyand Michael Bridges in the event that they hope to advance deeper within the playoffs this season—and probably to get via the Hawks. Fortunately, the Knicks have a secret weapon on their bench, Jordan Clarkson.
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It is under no circumstances illogical to anticipate to see Clarkson change the fortunes of the Knicks in not less than one sport within the playoffs. Frankly, Clarkson may impression a whole series because of his offensive prowess. And that might finally assist lead the Knicks farther than they have been this century, to the NBA Finals.
Jordan Clarkson’s previous gives proof he’ll get scorching and swing not less than 1 sport
Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
Clarkson is a veteran guard with a well-documented historical past of turning into a scoring menace come playoff time. Numbers recommend defenses merely can’t include him for a whole series. Across 43 profession playoff video games, Clarkson has averaged 11.7 factors per sport, a respectable quantity for a reserve. But averages do not inform the complete story.
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When Clarkson will get scorching, he will get scorching scorching. In a 2021 first-round matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Memphis GrizzliesClarkson averaged 18.6 factors per sport, and adopted that up with 16.7 per sport in opposition to the Los Angeles Clippers within the second spherical.
The very subsequent yr, within the 2022 first spherical in opposition to the Dallas MavericksClarkson averaged 17.5 factors per sport throughout six video games. That’s three consecutive playoff series wherein no opponent may preserve him beneath 16 factors per evening.
The math right here is easy and damning for the Atlanta Hawks, in addition to any future Knicks’ opponent. The seven-game series construction gives too many alternatives for Clarkson to catch hearth. And historical past tells us that he is good for not less than one outburst each seven video games—though minutes matter.
Clarkson stays harmful, will help in Knicks’ championship quest
In 2025-26, Clarkson averaged 18.3 points per game when enjoying greater than half-hour per sport. However, his scoring dropped to 11.5 factors per sport when enjoying between 20 and 29, and right down to 7.3 when enjoying between 10 and 19 minutes per sport.
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Granted. Clarkson hasn’t been within the playoffs since 2022, however he is scored in double figures in his eight most up-to-date playoff video games. And he is had a few main playoff outbursts, together with scoring 26 factors in barely fewer than 29 minutes within the 2020 NBA Playoffs. That caliber participant does not immediately overlook easy methods to fill it up when the lights get brighter, particularly contemplating the offensive steadiness New York has. And he demonstrated that skill this season, as effectively, scoring 27 factors in 26 minutes in mid-March in opposition to, sarcastically, the Jazz.
What makes Clarkson significantly harmful is his unpredictability. He can go quiet for a stretch of a sport (or the season), lulling a protection into a false sense of safety, earlier than erupting for a big scoring evening in a vital spot. After all, he was the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2021, and elite bench scorers like Clarkson have an innate skill to seek out moments when a protection least expects it.
No crew has ever managed to completely neutralize Clarkson throughout a whole playoff series, and there is no motive to suppose anybody will in 2026. The Hawks and different potential Knicks’ opponents ought to circle their identify earlier than beginning a series in opposition to them as a result of a big sport—or a number of big video games— is virtually inevitable, assuming he will get the chance.
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