CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In his latest effort to mold Jordan Clarkson into a complete player, Lakers coach Luke Walton pulled up some game footage. It did not involve highlights of this season. Instead, the film featured the past 10 games of Clarkson’s rookie year when he blended both scoring and playmaking.

“I just wanted to encourage him,” Walton said, “to get back to that.”

In his latest effort to end his inefficient shooting, Clarkson spent the beginning of the Lakers’ seven-game trip this week working on his craft. As soon as the Lakers landed in Sacramento late Monday morning last week, Clarkson, Brandon Ingram and D’Angelo Russell worked with Lakers assistant coach Theo Robertson in the gym until about 3:30 a.m.

“We’re just trying to get back to winning,” Clarkson said.

These two approaches show the balance both the Lakers and Clarkson are trying to reach in his third NBA season in both tapping in his scoring talents without disrupting team play.

The Lakers (11-19) enter Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets (15-13) at Spectrum Center with Clarkson averaging 14.5 points on 43.5 percent shooting and 2.2 assists. Though those numbers mirror his career averages thus far, Clarkson has shot 39.8 percent from the field in the past 10 games. Yet, he has also offered more efficient performances, such as when he posted 20 points on a 7-of-12 clip in Saturday’s loss to Cleveland.

“He just needed to see the ball go in the hole,” said Lakers guard Nick Young, who is one of Clarkson’s closest friends on the team. “He just has to stop putting so much pressure on himself and be JC, the player, we know.”

Walton believes some of that pressure might change with a different mindset. Ideally, Walton would like Clarkson to mirror what he showed in the last 10 games of his rookie season.

Then, Clarkson averaged 19.9 points on 49 percent shooting and seven assists. In two of those games, Clarkson logged double digits in assists.

“We know he’s capable of doing it. We also know he’s a very capable scorer,” Walton said.

“We kind of just want him to be in attack mode, but be ready to make the right play each time. Sometimes that’s a shot. Sometimes that’s a pass.”

Yet, that has become complicated for varying reasons.

During that efficient stretch his rookie season, Clarkson received increased playing time amid Kobe Bryant’s season-ending injury and an unproven roster. During that stretch, Clarkson started at point guard and mostly had the ball in his hands.

After signing a four-year, $50 million deal last summer to stay with the Lakers, Clarkson accepted a bench role without publicly complaining. Though Lou Williams and Clarkson represent the NBA’s best bench reserves, Clarkson has struggled to play as efficiently as Williams. Clarkson attributed that to a learning curve with evolving lineups through previous injuries to Russell and Young, as well as adjusting where he has found his shots.

“I never think I’m in a shooting struggle; you’re going to miss shots,” Clarkson said. “Coach wants me to be aggressive. That’s what I try to do every night when I’m out there on the floor. But at the same time, I have to figure out what’s a good shot and a bad shot.”

Lately, Clarkson has tried to figure that out with film study and late nights at the gym.

Home sweet home

The Lakers granted forward Julius Randle an excused absence to return to Los Angeles to be with his fiance, who is expecting a baby soon. Randle plans to return to Charlotte in time for Tuesday’s morning shootaround. The Lakers had off on Sunday and will practice on Monday.

Contact the writer: mmedina@scng.com