RD2: #4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #1 Utah Jazz

[Real Deal]

[Real Deal]

After watching the Clippers struggle against the Mavericks in the first round, I can't imagine them beating the Jazz.  Between Mitchell, Conley, Clarkson and Gobert, there's a lot of offense, and the Clippers may have the perimeter defense, but who's defending Gobert?  He's known for his defense, but he's also giving the Jazz 17 points a night.

In their series of three regular season games, both Kawhi and George missed the second one.  which was an 18-point win for the Jazz.  In the third, it took five players scoring 15+ points, including Kawhi's 29, and Serge Ibaka playing defense on Gobert, to win the game by just four points.  Kawhi had 5 to Mitchell's 17 in that 4th quarter, and it came down to making free throws for the Clippers (and they did) to end the game.

Something that surprised me was that the Jazz attempt more threes than anyone else in the NBA.  They also make nearly 39% of them.  They are the best rebounding team, and they defend shots (both twos and threes) 2nd best in the league.  How does that sound to the Clippers?  Not so good.  They are awful at getting to the line, and they aren't a great rebounding team (although they keep their opponents off the glass -- they are 1st in 3PT% and top five in FG%, so it's hard to rebound a made basket).

All things considered, I'm taking the Jazz in six games.  I see guys like Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris being the x-factors in the series, being able to hit wide open shots, but I also think the Clippers will need to attack the rim immediately, to put Gobert to work, even if it costs them a few points to start the game.  Remove him from the equation, and Utah becomes extremely vulnerable in the paint.  Otherwise, they are going to war against a team that is ranked better on both ends of the court, against a star in Mitchell that has far, far more help than Luka Doncic did in the first round and the Clippers will need every bit of Kawhi and PG to get the job done.

[Cobb]

I'll take the Clippers in 6., though it's mainly due to my recency bias from Kawhi's takeover in Games 6 of 7 of the series vs. the Mavericks. It's almost like once the Clippers realized the Lakers got eliminated a switch was flipped upon realizing they have a real shot of coming out of the West. Tough for me to go against the Clippers with Kawhi seeming so locked in.

[Real Deal]

4 hours ago, Cobb said:

I'll take the Clippers in 6., though it's mainly due to my recency bias from Kawhi's takeover in Games 6 of 7 of the series vs. the Mavericks. It's almost like once the Clippers realized the Lakers got eliminated a switch was flipped upon realizing they have a real shot of coming out of the West. Tough for me to go against the Clippers with Kawhi seeming so locked in.

I don't see why he didn't take the Luka assignment earlier.  Maybe it was a coaching decision?  They attempted to put Beverley on him, lmao...awful decision.  I think Kawhi should've stepped in and demanded it, but I suppose I really don't have a clue what happened there.  Plus, I know Dallas continually set screens for Luka, but the Clippers willingly switched almost every time, and I didn't understand why.

Against Utah, it has to be different.  I'm assuming PG will handle Mitchell, but what happens if Conley catches fire?

[Real Deal]

No Conley for Games 1 and 2, yet the Jazz roll over the Clips behind Mitchell's 45 and 37.

Not much to say other than the fact that the Clippers do not have an answer for Mitchell, and I have no idea why Pat Bev is even playing.  He gives you fouls and bad shots.  Twenty minutes, and you get 0/5 shooting and 4 fouls, overrated defense, and wasted time that could've gone to someone else.

[Cobb]

Of the predictions I had this happened to be the correct one. Wild.