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Western Conference NBA Playoffs Preview – LA Clippers vs Utah Jazz

By Matthew Hallett

Mar 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and forward Luc Mbah a Moute (12) defend Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) under the basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and forward Luc Mbah a Moute (12) defend Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) under the basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 30, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) and Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) battle for position in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) and Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) battle for position in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Strengths/Weaknesses

Utah Jazz

Strengths – The undoubted strength of the Utah Jazz is it’s defense. They lead the league with the fewest points scored against them this season with 96.8 points per game. Only Utah and San Antonio have kept their opponents to an average of 100 points or less over the season.

This starts with the excellent team defense that Utah show. It ends at the rim with the wonderful shot blocker Rudy Gobert who lead the NBA in blocked shots for the year.

A second strength of Utah is their bench – they have quite the versatility. Utah have experience in Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw, quickness in Dante Exum and scoring punch in Shelvin Mack. They also have Joe Ingles, who lead the NBA through December in three point percentage and is another versatile scoring threat.

Weaknesses – The biggest weakness of the Jazz is their offense. Holding your opponents to 96.8 points per game is great. Only scoring 100.7 is not so good. This is the third worst in the NBA. Too much rests on the shoulders of Gordon Hayward and George Hill.

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This low points scoring can be attributed to poor ball movement. Hill lead the team with 4.1 assists per game while Hayward only averages 3.5 per game. Someone needs to control the offense in the Playoffs for the team to succeed.

LA Clippers

Strengths – The LA Clippers are a very well run offensive unit. Chris Paul finds players in good positions on the court as shown by the Clippers being third best in the NBA for field goal percentage.

A second strength of the Clippers is their continuity of players during their six straight year of Playoffs. Their big three of Paul, Griffin and Jordan have played all six years.

Weaknesses – While they have continuity of players over the last six Playoff runs, the Clippers have never been out of the second round. This could become a mental hurdle which is too great for this current core of Clippers to overcome.

The second weakness that is of concern is the weakness of their bench with Austin Rivers out injured. His 12.0 points per game off the bench is crucial for the Clippers against the better teams. Against the Jazz, Rivers averages 15 points per game which in low scoring affairs is critical for the success of the team.

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