Los Angeles Clippers/Utah Jazz Game 5 Analysis
16 Wins A Ring Writers offer 3 different perspectives on Game 5 results: Jazz 96 — Clippers 92.
Utah Jazz Recap by Taylor Griffin
What Worked
A healthy Gordon Hayward carved up the Clippers for 27 points (4–8 from three), and added 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Feeling 100% after his food sickness episode, Hayward carried the Jazz offensively, as franchise players do. The Jazz played tremendous defense throughout most of the game, racking up 10 steals and 5 blocks as a team. They won the points in the paint battle, which has been the deciding factor in each game this series.
Lessons Learned
The Jazz survived JJ Redick’s best game of the series, surrendering 26 points after having him locked up for the majority of the series. In what was a great all-around game for the Jazz, they still had crucial stretches where offensive continuity was lacking and they failed to move the ball around like they usually do.
Luckily, during this time the Clippers were also struggling offensively, which played a big part in the Jazz building an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Next Game Adjustments
With a chance to advance to the semifinals in the Western Conference on Saturday night, the Jazz need to remain focused. The Clippers are a well-coached team, with the best point guard in the game at command.
They won’t go down without a fight, and will come out swinging in Utah on the road. The Jazz will need to play with that same sense of urgency that they have in this series, and demand big things from their stars Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert.
Next Game Prediction
The Jazz have all their players healthy and are playing good team basketball. With a chance to end the series in front of what will be a raucous Salt Lake City crowd, I don’t see the Jazz surrendering another loss in their home arena. Rudy Gobert has his best game of the playoffs, and the Jazz knock the Clippers out of the playoffs 108–99.
Los Angeles Clippers Recap by Charles Maniego
What Worked
The Clippers Blake Griffin-less core played solidly. J.J. Redick had his best game of the postseason, scoring 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Coming into game 5, Redick had shot 35% from the field and 27% from three, per 16 Wins A Ring’s Taylor Griffin. DeAndre Jordan had a decent game as well, chipping in with a double double. And of course, Chris Paul controlled the Clippers’ offense, playing yet another efficient game on both ends of the floor.
Los Angeles’ defense stepped up as a unit. It was the lowest scoring game of the series for a reason. Luc Richard Mbah A Moute played some solid minutes defensively, initially stopping Joe Johnson in the first half. (I know. Iso Joe/Joe Jesus/Joe Cool/Joe Yoga only comes alive in the fourth.) The third quarter, in particular, showed the Clippers’ defensive prowess. It was a12 minute slog, spurred by solid defense from both sides.
Lessons Learned
Los Angeles’ offense looked out of rhythm for most of the game. They struggled to find clean looks, despite the best effort from Chris Paul to orchestrate the offense. There were several possessions where the Clippers threw a desperation shot to avoid a shot-clock violation.
The Clippersalso seemed to try to look for foul calls all too often, rather than playing within their offense. While Mbah A Moute provided solid defense, he and Marreese Speights essentially provided nothing offensively. They combined for 8 points on 1-of-8 shooting in game 5.
Outside of Redick, Paul and Jordan, no Clipper scored more than 7 points. As a comparison, six Jazz players scored in double digits. Credit the Jazz defense for making life difficult for the Clippers at home. The poor shooting and seemingly weak effort offensively sunk the Clippers in a seemingly winnable game.
Next Game Adjustments
The Clippers need to get back on track offensively. They were able to generate defensive stops when needed, but their offense was seemingly lacking. With Austin Rivers’ return, L.A. now has a solid bench scoring punch with he, Jamal Crawford and Paul Pierce.
The rest of the Clippers need to step up, rather than relying on Paul, Redick and Jordan exclusively. It’s understandable for the Clippers to struggle without Blake Griffin — and without an answer to Joe Johnson’s postseason bully ball. The Clippers have the bench scoring to keep them afloat against Utah’s reserves. They should try to exploit that.
Next Game Prediction
The Jazz now have the upper hand in the series, 3–2. Los Angeles faces elimination on Friday in Salt Lake City. They will need to ramp up their defense, at least trying to contain the wing combo of Gordon Hayward and Joe Johnson to grind out a win.
At the end of Game five, Paul looked openly frustrated as the Jazz began to pull away. Expect Paul to will his team to victory on Friday night. A motivated Chris Paul could lead the way for the Clippers to force game seven back at the Staples Center.
Neutral Recap by Lance Roberson
Why The Jazz Won
Getting Gordon Hayward back from food poisoning is a good start facing a desperate Los Angeles Clippers team. Hayward finished with 27 points on 9–16 shooting. If the Jazz want to finish off the wounded Clippers they need Hayward steering the wheel. Joe Johnson’s eight second-half points were enough to keep the victory.
Even with the shooting problems the Jazz had in game 5, their ball movement was a coach’s dream come true. They finished +9 on assists over the Clippers, leaving the Jazz with 25 assists. Ingles wasn’t the same point-forward he was last game, but his team picked up the slack. In the end the Jazz have more talent and the know how to finish games late.
Why The Clippers Lost
This may be beating a dead horse, but the frontcourt depth of the Clippers is as shallow as a kiddie pool. Even with Blake Griffin on the court they just didn’t have the help. Now that Blake is out for the playoffs the Clippers have nothing for Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, or even Boris Diaw for that matter.
Saying the Clippers have an uphill battle to climb is an understatement. The Utah Jazz outrebounded the Clippers 50 to 44. The Clippers were outclassed in almost every main team statistic. The Clippers bench was basically nonexistent. They shot a poor 5–22, unfortunately Jamal Crawford couldn’t pick up where he left off in game 4. The Clippers finally got a good game from JJ Redick and it still wasn’t enough. Not a good sign.
Next Game Adjustments
At this point what can you suggest for the Clippers to do differently? They are hanging by a thread this series and every game in the second half Chris Paul is being the score first point guard we knew he could be. The only way they have a chance is if their bench shows up to play.
DeAndre Jordan has no real help on the boards, and when he is out, it’s a free for all for the Jazz to get points in the paint. This is as bleak as it gets, feels like an end of an era in “Lob City”.
Next Game Prediction
The Utah Jazz have the momentum and more importantly, the talent to finish this series at home. The Clippers gave it their all without Griffin, but sometimes your best just isn’t enough. The Jazz will give their fanbase its first playoff series win since the Jerry Sloan era ended in 2010. Utah Jazz over the Los Angeles Clippers 100–92.
