CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When your postseason maiden voyage is akin to that of the Titanic, there are a few options: wallow in self-pity, blame others or look in the mirror.

Jordan Clarkson chose the latter.

When he gazed into that polished piece of glass he was extremely dissatisfied with the reflection. Clarkson saw a flawed basketball player, one whose weaknesses were exposed underneath the bright lights of the NBA playoffs. He also saw someone who needed to slim down, his body fat having increased to an undesirable level.

It was time for a few changes.

"This is just me, 26 years old, this is my fifth year in the league and I've just got to do something different," Clarkson said in a private conversation following Friday's practice. "I felt like I was doing the same thing. I really had to look myself in the mirror and really take it into account to really get better and change stuff."

Clarkson took about two weeks off and then the hard work started.

The first change came off the court. Clarkson found a new strength and conditioning guy in Los Angeles who helped change his diet.

He ousted sugars and breads. He swapped out beer and other alcoholic beverages for wine. He eliminated trips to fast food joints, including Popeye's -- admitting that was one of the toughest sacrifices. Instead of capping meals with sweets, like candy that he loves so much, Clarkson now sips on health-conscious smoothies -- similar to the customized one he was enjoying while conducting the interview at the center of the Cavaliers' practice floor.

"I took the challenge and I'm still on it now," Clarkson said of the diet. "Just helps me wake up in the morning. I feel good, I feel refreshed and then it helped my body as well, cutting some body fat down. Just getting ready for the year. This is probably the best I've felt since I've been in the league."

Clarkson, whose body fat was around six percent when he was in L.A. this summer, believes he is now down near 5.5.

He's stronger now, ready to handle the troublesome physical play that Indiana, Toronto, Boston and Golden State used to render him ineffective throughout Cleveland's postseason run. The on-ball pressure was frustrating and his handle wasn't tight enough to cope. He couldn't shake free from the stingier postseason defenses and struggled to get quality looks. Then he started pressing.

When he finally watched film from the playoffs it was a painful.

So Clarkson put together an on-court plan, wanting to work on those exposed flaws.

"It's all learning for me. I don't really get too high or too low, I'm pretty even-keeled," he said. "I look at all my experiences as what it's supposed to be. It's my life, take one step at a time. If I fall down, I've got to get right back up."

On the court, Clarkson worked with Drew Hanlen, whose full-time clients also include Washington's Bradley Beal, Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins, Philadelphia All-Star Joel Embiid and Chicago's Zach LaVine. Clarkson also had a few individual sessions with Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue, who made it a point to schedule time with the youngster. Clarkson met Lue in Las Vegas for about a week and the two got together once more in Los Angeles. Lue came prepared, with specific bullet points.

"A lot of it was pick-and-roll stuff, creating space," Clarkson said when asked about the focus of those workouts. "We worked on a lot of passing drills. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but we did a lot of passing drills, ball-handling and stuff like that."

In his private film study, Clarkson noticed opponents blitzing him and trying to force the ball out of his hands. They also flustered him with high shows and made him take poor shots, as he couldn't properly identify how he was being defended coming off screens.

"Just making those reads off those pick-and-rolls, getting the ball out of my hands and learning how to make those passes out of those situations," Clarkson said. "I really ain't never been taught that. Just being able to sit down and kind of pick it all apart, it was good for me."

Those workout sessions with Lue also allowed the player-coach relationship to grow.

Clarkson arrived as part of Cleveland's roster shakeup at the deadline in February. That meant there wasn't much time to get acclimated to the new system or new style. It also prevented him from building a strong connection with Lue. For Clarkson, being around Lue this summer allowed him to not just get important on-court pointers, but to talk with him and pick Lue's brain about his own experiences.

"Not really anything different, just adding to his game," Lue said. "We still want him to be a scorer. But when guys are open, to be able to make the right play. Definitely got to keep working with that. You haven't seen a lot of passes yet, but he put the work in to get better at that."

After tallying 12.6 points per game off the bench in 28 regular season games with the Cavs, Clarkson averaged just 4.7 points on 30.1 percent shooting from the field in 15 minutes per playoff game. The NBA's second-leading bench scorer during the regular season, Clarkson reached double figures just twice in the postseason. He was benched for the final two games of the NBA Finals.

Clarkson, expected to be one of Cleveland's key reserves as they fight for a playoff spot without LeBron James, is certainly focused on this upcoming season. It's his chance for redemption. But that initial playoff experience going so poorly still doesn't sit well with him. It helped fuel what could end up being a transformative summer.

"Had a lot of motivation," Clarkson said. "But I'm understanding on how it is. I felt like I played a lesser role during the playoffs. A lot of it comes with what it is, during that time I wasn't making shots and stuff like that. It's part of the game. You're going to take your ups and downs.

"I'm here trying to prove people wrong. I feel like people are going to judge me from one playoff series when I didn't really play much or get much time in and it was an all new experience for me. I'm coming back ready to go, my head down ready to attack it."