The Jazz are visiting the Clippers for the first time this season. The last time they were in the same building, it wasn't pretty. Let's hope the rims are a little kinder tonight.
Let's hope that it doesn't come down to the fourth quarter though.
They just got beat up on by the Spurs in their first game since Dunleavy got fired stepped down. Neither team shot the ball well but LA turned it over 21 times. They had just got back from an eight-game road trip where they went 2-6. Kim Hughes, the interim coach, is getting a baptism of fire by having to go up against the Spurs and Jazz in his first two games against two of the best coaches in the league. Clips Nation had this to say,
Learning as he gets destroyed. When he spoke to the media after his first day of practice, Kim Hughes singled out Gregg Popovich and Jerry Sloan as coaches he admires and would like emulate. He gets his would-be mentors back to back start his coaching career. A terrific learning opportunity - a less than terrific winning opportunity.
The Clippers have had more than their fair share of issues. From the owner, to the coach, and the unexplainable rash of injuries, their fans have had quite a bit of suffering. Some of it's unexplainable and some of it, such as the rumors to bring on Isiah Thomas as coach and GM, is self-inflicted.
Back to tonight's game. The Jazz are top ten in the league in offensive rating and defensive rating. If you were to do a power ranking based of those two things alone, the Jazz are #6 in the league. The Clippers would be #25.
I ranked each team according to their offensive and defensive ratings and then averaged those rankings to get an overall ranking. Here's the results,
| Ortg | Orank | Drtg | Drank | Overall | ||
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 110.7 | 5 | 102.6 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Lakers | 109.6 | 9 | 102.5 | 2 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 107.7 | 13 | 101.9 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | Atlanta Hawks | 111.4 | 4 | 106.2 | 11 | 7.5 |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | 108.4 | 12 | 102.8 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Utah Jazz | 109.8 | 7 | 104.4 | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | 111.8 | 2 | 106.7 | 15 | 8.5 |
| 8 | San Antonio Spurs | 109.7 | 8 | 104.9 | 10 | 9 |
| 9 | Dallas Mavericks | 108.8 | 11 | 106.2 | 12 | 11.5 |
| 10 | Portland Trail Blazers | 110.7 | 6 | 108 | 19 | 12.5 |
| 11 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 106.2 | 20 | 103.1 | 6 | 13 |
| 12 | Houston Rockets | 107.1 | 15 | 106.4 | 13 | 14 |
| 13 | Charlotte Bobcats | 103.8 | 25 | 102.9 | 5 | 15 |
| 14 | Phoenix Suns | 114.3 | 1 | 111.6 | 30 | 15.5 |
| 15 | Milwaukee Bucks | 104.1 | 24 | 104 | 8 | 16 |
| 16 | Miami Heat | 106.3 | 18 | 106.4 | 14 | 16 |
| 17 | League Average | 106.9 | 16 | 106.9 | 17 | 16.5 |
| 18 | Toronto Raptors | 111.8 | 3 | 112.4 | 31 | 17 |
| 19 | New Orleans Hornets | 107.5 | 14 | 108.9 | 21 | 17.5 |
| 20 | Memphis Grizzlies | 109.1 | 10 | 109.9 | 25 | 17.5 |
| 21 | Chicago Bulls | 101.1 | 30 | 103.8 | 7 | 18.5 |
| 22 | New York Knickerbockers | 106.7 | 17 | 109.1 | 22 | 19.5 |
| 23 | Philadelphia 76ers | 106 | 22 | 108.4 | 20 | 21 |
| 24 | Indiana Pacers | 101.7 | 28 | 106.7 | 16 | 22 |
| 25 | Los Angeles Clippers | 103.2 | 27 | 107.2 | 18 | 22.5 |
| 26 | Washington Wizards | 104.7 | 23 | 109.3 | 24 | 23.5 |
| 27 | Sacramento Kings | 106.3 | 19 | 110.6 | 28 | 23.5 |
| 28 | Detroit Pistons | 103.2 | 26 | 109.2 | 23 | 24.5 |
| 29 | Golden State Warriors | 106.1 | 21 | 110.7 | 29 | 25 |
| 30 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 101.4 | 29 | 110.1 | 26 | 27.5 |
| 31 | New Jersey Nets | 97.8 | 31 | 110.4 | 27 | 29 |
I think that's a pretty accurate power ranking. There might be a few tweaks, but overall that's really close. That's for the whole season as well and not just recently.
So the Jazz should win this game despite it being on the road. They can't win all of them, but this is one that you expect them to win.
Do we see Boozer have a big game tonight seeing as he's playing against Kaman? I hope so, but not for any reason other than he got them within the offense. If he tries for a bit of a revenge factor, then maybe the he struggles.
Boozer, Millsap, and Deron have had pretty good games against the Clippers that past few years. I'm looking forward though to the great team games we've had in this run. I would love to see everyone get into double-digits.
Let's get this one early and hope we can get some rest to play the other LA team tomorrow night.