Jordan Clarkson may get time as Lakers backup point guard

The Lakers start the regular season on Tuesday night, hosting the Houston Rockets at Staples Center.

They’ll do so without point guard Steve Nash, who is out for the season with chronic back issues. Veteran guard Ronnie Price is questionable, after suffering a bruised knee in the Lakers preseason closer on Friday against the Sacramento Kings.

Even Wayne Ellington, whom Coach Byron Scott has used as an emergency point guard throughout the preseason, will sit Tuesday with a concussion.

Fortunately for the Lakers, Jeremy Lin has fully recovered from a pair of sprained ankles, but who will Scott turn to as Lin’s backup on Tuesday, if Price is unable to play?

“I’ve got Jordan Clarkson,” said Scott after practice on Monday. “He’s been playing one as well in the preseason.”

The 6-foot-5 Clarkson was acquired on draft day with the 46th overall pick. A calf injury kept him out half of the preseason, but through four games -- primarily as Kobe Bryant’s backup at shooting guard -- Clarkson averaged 9.5 points and 1.0 assist while shooting just 34.3% from the field.

“I’m not overly excited about him playing [at point guard] as a rookie, this early, but in an emergency situation, I think he’ll be able to handle it well,” Scott said. “I just talked to him about running the show, thinking about getting guys to where they need to be -- not to think about shot first.

“I think he’ll be fine.”

Scott said Price was close to a return, “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

The Lakers will not have Nick Young (thumb), Xavier Henry (knee), Ryan Kelly (hamstring), Ellington or Nash on Tuesday against the Rockets.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.