2021 Western Conference Round 2: (1) Utah Jazz vs. (4) L.A. Clippers

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14345954]Bad offense is the reason they lost to Houston but don't let that stop ya troll[/QUOTE]
Never said that but Rudy had the worst on court rating on the entire Utah team that series

I'm just saying he tends to struggle when teams go small and play a 5 out offense

Eric Walden: [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Mike Conley is QUESTIONABLE for Game 1 vs. the Clippers tomorrow[/URL].
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/tribjazz"]Twitter tribjazz[/URL]

[QUOTE=red1;14345951]kawhi is too good.



clippers in 6.[/QUOTE]

Half man. Half bot.

Clippers in 5, maybe 6.

Mitchell and a hindered Conley isn't enough and they have no consistent scoring threats otherwise. Although Bojan has been stepping up lately

Clippers must fall,

[IMG]https://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/voodoo-gif-11.gif[/IMG]

Mark Medina: Clippers coach [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Ty Lue said Serge Ibaka did not travel with the team. So consider Ibaka out for Games 1 and 2 vs Jazz[/URL]
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina"]Twitter MarkG_Medina[/URL]

[QUOTE=ArbitraryWater;14345511]you can more than double your money with this prediction![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the hint. Easy money. I just don't see Utah advancing vs. the Clippers. Not even on paper are Utah the better team. Typical regular season #1 seed like the Bucks the last years.

Kawhi has already eliminated 3 different defensive player of the years (giannis, draymond green, Marc gasol).

Rudy gobert would be the 4th

The statue in town for game 1

[url]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3ThrK9VEAEIJOM?format=jpg&name=large[/url]

Mike Conley has been ruled OUT for game 1

that's huge, we better not still get our asses kicked like bucks did to nets without harden.

[QUOTE]Mavs-Clips Game 7 on ABC got 5.489 million viewers - was the most watched first round NBA playoff game[/QUOTE]

Damn kawhi the DRAW even with a non draw franchise like clippers

[QUOTE=HBK_Kliq_2;14346985]Mike Conley has been ruled OUT for game 1

that's huge, we better not still get our asses kicked like bucks did to nets without harden.[/QUOTE]

no excuses

This Utah team is giving me 2008-2010 Magic vibes. Not an all-time great team but when they get hot shooting the ball they are pretty close to unbeatable. This is going to be a very tough series for the Clippers.

donovan mitchell is an absolute baller one of the best to watch in the league


kawhi is going to take his soul

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14346999]no excuses[/QUOTE]

Ibaka is also out who was in clips best 3 man lineup this season, so it's even

[QUOTE=red1;14347024]donovan mitchell is an absolute baller one of the best to watch in the league


kawhi is going to take his soul[/QUOTE]

Midget Royce O'Neal will definitely not be able to guard kawhi

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14346999]no excuses[/QUOTE]
Should take your own advice :lol

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14346692]The statue in town for game 1

[url]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3ThrK9VEAEIJOM?format=jpg&name=large[/url][/QUOTE]

Putting up a statue of a child molester…the Jazz have no shame. :facepalm

[QUOTE=HBK_Kliq_2;14347096]Midget Royce O'Neal will definitely not be able to guard kawhi[/QUOTE]

I dont think anyone in the league can guard him tbh



kawhi vs kd is going to be legit

[quote=smoke117;14347124]putting up a statue of a child molester…the jazz have no shame. :facepalm[/quote]

hahahaha

Jordan Clarkson wearing a lakers jersey today in practice interview like he's important and some star hahaha. He has a 34% usage in playoffs and thinks he's kobe hahahaha these are the exact type of guys that make teams underachieve in the playoffs. What a f'n moron.

[QUOTE=red1;14347137]I dont think anyone in the league can guard him tbh



kawhi vs kd is going to be legit[/QUOTE]

exactly i agree

[QUOTE]Kawhi Leonard averaged 32.1 PPG and shot 61.2% from the field in the first round. The only other player in #NBA history to go 32 PPG/60% FG in a series that went seven games is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (37.1, 60.7) against the Warriors in the second round in 1977. [/QUOTE]

Kawhi Abdul ja leonard about to have a field day with the Utah jizz

[QUOTE=HBK_Kliq_2;14347095]Ibaka is also out who was in clips best 3 man lineup this season, so it's even[/QUOTE]

one of the best players in the league this year vs as an aging Ibaka not even :lol

[QUOTE=Manny98;14347123]Should take your own advice :lol[/QUOTE]

2nd best player being out isn't an excuse besides Mitchell, Clarkson, Bojan, Favors COTY?

[QUOTE=HBK_Kliq_2;14347179]Jordan Clarkson wearing a lakers jersey today in practice interview like he's important and some star hahaha. He has a 34% usage in playoffs and thinks he's kobe hahahaha these are the exact type of guys that make teams underachieve in the playoffs. What a f'n moron.[/QUOTE]

thinks he's Kobe. That's the problem. Not the guy to emulate

[QUOTE=HBK_Kliq_2;14347231]Kawhi Abdul ja leonard about to have a field day with the Utah jizz[/QUOTE]

Jazz are the best defensive team in the league. Dallas was not

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14347251]2nd best player being out isn't an excuse besides Mitchell, Clarkson, Bojan, Favors COTY?[/QUOTE]
Mitchell is one of the best offensive players in the league :facepalm

[QUOTE=RRR3;14347270]Mitchell is one of the best offensive players in the league :facepalm[/QUOTE]

as long as efficiency and playmaking isn't important to you

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14347275]as long as efficiency and playmaking isn't important to you[/QUOTE]
The trolls are out.

7th in the entire league in ORPM

[QUOTE=RRR3;14347279]The trolls are out.

7th in the entire league in ORPM[/QUOTE]

had one good offensive game out of 4 when it counted against the Grizzlies. Luckily Gobert, Conley and O'Neale were great

If the Clippers control the Jazz's 3 point shooting armada, without allowing too many easy buckets in the point, and they can score efficiently against the Jazz's elite defense (2nd in defensive FG%, 3rd in points allowed, and allowing fewest 3 pointers made), they will win the series. They need another blockbuster series from Leonard and George to stay in Playoff P mode (23.6 ppg and 9 rpg, plus 5.7 app), and leave Pandemic P in 2020.

If the Jazz continue to play at the same level with Mitchell scoring and playmaking, and Gobert controlling the paint (3.2 blocks per) and keep rolling to the basket (17.4 ppg at 77.8 FG%), they will win.

While the Jazz from top to bottom is a balanced team with very few weaknesses, and homecourt advantage, the Clippers have the best player in the series in Leonard.

[I]Los Angeles in 7[/I]

[url]https://www.deseret.com/2021/6/8/22522927/with-joe-ingles-facing-paul-george-in-the-nba-playoffs-again-entertaining-beef-utah-jazz-la-clippers[/url]

playoff P :roll:

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;14347257]Jazz are the best defensive team in the league. Dallas was not[/QUOTE]

Jazz weren't the best defense in the league stop lying. They weren't even top 3 and Lakers were the best defense this season.

[url]https://saltcityhoops.com/elite-clippers-jazz-square-off-in-battle-of-wills/[/url]

good run down

its gonna be a shame going from the Philly game to this game...we go from one of the most skilled big men of all time to one of the least skilled big men of all time :(


They should really get these 2 games off the same night

Battle of two of the biggest stans in ISHistory tonight.

@RRR3 get in here brother :lol

Lets geauxxxx

It's definitely not your typical 1-5 match-up. While the Clippers definitely don't overmatch the Jazz's talent on-paper, they arguably outmatch their playstyle.

Utah's vaunted paint defense will only go so far against a Clippers team that predominantly shoots from the mid-range and three-point line, ranking in the five-highest shot-selection percentages from those zones. The Jazz, facing the league's best three-point-shooting team, will need to uphold their top-end 3PT defense, and Rudy Gobert can help them there—if only because it's easier for the rest of the team to overcommit to the three-point line with their DPOY's help defense looming.

The problem is Gobert can't [i]shoot[/i] the three-pointer himself, which complicates this match-up for his team. Thanks to small ball—a playstyle the Clippers have a deadly lineup for—prototypical bigmen like Gobert have become mostly obsolete. He becomes an offensive liability in match-ups like these as his team tries to counterpose the Clippers' small-ball lineup, and all his hard screens—a staple of the Jazz's P&R offense—are only so useful against LA's switching defense.

The Jazz will need their perimeter-oriented players to step up on both ends, from their three-point-shooting to their defense on the Clippers' star duo. Each one of them will need to step up when defending Kawhi and PG, who can orchestrate whatever mismatch they want with the Clippers' P&R dynamics, and Mike Conley will be sorely missed there with his unplayable health.

No Jazz player can realistically step up enough to outperform Kawhi Leonard, however, who is looking like the BITW once again and is coming off a monstrous series against the Mavericks. While the Jazz clearly outclass the Mavericks defensively, Kawhi has shredded much better teams on that end, and there's little reason to doubt he'll do so again this series if he's truly in his 2019 form. The real wildcards are how much his supporting cast—especially the oft-shaky Paul George—complements him, which the Jazz will challenge them to do.

From three-point-shooting to ball movement to P&R offense to talent levels, these teams are about as evenly matched as you could expect from a 1-5 match-up. The seeding is still advantageous in this series, however, thanks to HCA—an advantage amplified by the Vivint Arena crowd, who saw the winningest home team in the league this season.

No home arena is advantageous as having a legitimate superstar come playoffs time, however, which the Jazz may or may not still lack. Donovan Mitchell has a chance to establish himself as one this series, and I trust he will. I'm not granting him the benefit of the doubt against Kawhi, who I expect to be the series' best player, but I'll take Mitchell's supporting cast seven days of the week and twice on Sundays; it's just a question of whether or not they're ready to wholly translate their talent to the playoffs.

[B]Bottom-line prediction:[/B] Jazz in seven.