Clippers Flash Dominance To Get Back In Series! 6.12.21
It’s the weekend and we have one game tonight, Game 3 between the LA Clippers and the Utah Jazz.
(1) Utah Jazz vs (4) LA Clippers
Utah Jazz (2-1)
Yeah, this is more like what Utah should have been expecting in this series. The Clippers defensive pressure was on them from the start as Mitchell didn’t go completely insane like he did in Games 1 and 2 of this series. The Jazz still shot well from 3 but they didn’t get into the paint as much. They turned the ball over a bunch and that led to a lot of LA points.
Then there’s Kawhi and PG, who were just unstoppable. Whenever Gobert isn’t in the game, when Favors is down low, it’s so easy to attack the paint. The Jazz have to be ready for the urgent LA Clippers because this is now a series again,
Mitchell was 11/24 from the field but you could tell that ankle was holding him back a bit. It was either that or the LA defense, maybe a mix of both. Hopefully he’s 100% healthy.
Ingles had 19 but he didn’t do much in the 2nd half. Jordan Clarkson was awful, 5/16 shooting. The Jazz only hit 17 2-pointers in this game but they hit 19 3’s. They hit 17 free throws but their whole offense was essentially just the 3-PT shot.
16 turnovers led to 24 LA points and then they were -12 in the paint. So the offense wasn’t that good, mostly one-on-one play, not a lot of ball movement, tough shots. Defensively they couldn’t stay with the smaller, quicker LA lineups and then PG and Kawhi dominated. Any fixes?
Well they have to move the ball more to avoid that LA pressure. Don’t just settle for shots. Mike Conley is another obvious answer, but I really hope they don’t force him back and risk his health. But he’s another ball-handler, shooters, and play-maker that can really help with this sort of pressure.
Defensively, I kind of knew they couldn’t stop PG and Kawhi. The small lineups killed them and then the Clippers made shots. The Jazz really won Games 1 and 2 because LA missed so many good looks. But if they make the same amount of 3’s as the Jazz do (19) and they’re duo is going off? I find it hard to see how Utah beats them.
Lets see what Utah does to counter, if Mike Conley comes back healthy, whatever the case maybe. But the Jazz are going to have to play substantially better than they did in this game.
LA Clippers (1-2)
Finally. Urgency. It’s that simple LA. Actually gameplan defensively and then do stuff that works. How hard is that and why did it take 2 bad losses to figure that out? I don’t know, but here we are. The Clippers didn’t change anything that drastically, they just were smart.
Played smaller with more shooting to expose Gobert and then they finally hit shots, making 19 3’s, the same amount that Utah did. PG and Kawhi were both ultra-aggressive and they put so much pressure on Utah. Both PG and Kawhi need to be this aggressive going forward, because Royce O’Neale and Bojan Bogdanovic can’t guard them.
Defensively, pressure was the name of the game. They pushed Donovan Mitchell farther out and he played his worst game of the series. The Jazz had almost no inside presence and the Clippers finally played good defense, something that we haven’t seen from a team with so many accomplished defenders.
The Clippers were aggressive, smart, they played a perfect game. If they did this more often, they certainly wouldn’t have played 7 games in the first round and I doubt they would be down 1-2 in this series. The key is consistency. Play like this again, you will dominate most teams in the NBA.
34 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists for Kawhi on 14/24 shooting. Dominant. 31 points for Paul George who hit 6 3’s, great game. 17 from Batum and 17 from Reggie Jackson was big, they both hit their open shots.
Beverley was good off the bench, Zubac, who hasn’t played much this postseason, set some really good screens in the first half and was solid. Luke Kennard and Terrance Mann both played 17+ minutes and they were great. Kennard was a +12 in 17 minutes and Mann was a +21 in 22 minutes.
Kennard didn’t play at all in the first round expect for Game 7 and then Mann didn’t play much to start this series. Both guys are valuable, both guys can play, they can really help this team.
The Clippers flashed their dominance. Now do it again. That’s the challenge. We all know they can do it. So just do it (Nike don’t sue me, please).
What Are Your Thoughts From The Game Tonight? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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