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

[Mask the Embiid]

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

[LoneyROY7]

Battle of two of the biggest stans in ISHistory tonight.

[Proctor]

@RRR3 get in here brother

[Callystarr]

Lets geauxxxx

[Naero]

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 shoot 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.

Bottom-line prediction: Jazz in seven.

[imdaman99]

Conley missing another playoff game, this a yearly thing for him

[Callystarr]

Jazz crowd is bananas,

[Xiao Yao You]

Mitchell and Bojan keeping it close. Gobert shutting down the paint

[Xiao Yao You]

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 shoot 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.

Bottom-line prediction: Jazz in seven.

the best screener/rim runner/offensive rebounder in the league is an offensive liabilty!

[Callystarr]

Bogeys pass was amazing, too bad Donovan didn't convert. Need to work offense, not fall in love with 3's when not open. move the durn ball....Mitchell playing better defense than normal. 2 games in a row.

[Honor Boost]

Kawhibot is going to destroy this Jazz perimeter D. I expect a full blowout and Clippers in 4.

[Callystarr]

Kawhibot is going to destroy this Jazz perimeter D. I expect a full blowout and Clippers in 4.

you obviously haven't seen how good Royce guards him in history

[Smoke117]

Jazz need Conley

[Honor Boost]

I see Karl Malone is in attendance. Hide your kids everyone

[Honor Boost]

you obviously haven't seen how good Royce guards him in history

I guess not but you think the Jazz perimeter can stop Kawhi and George Paul when he is on like last series?