A few nights back the Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in Utah, 102-89. Blake Griffin was having his way (31 points), and Chris Paul was able to take advantage of rookie Dante Exum, but beyond that nothing else went right. Utah shot 30 threes, and everyone was hitting from the outside. Nothing seemed to work for LA, despite whatever adjustments they made. They were undermanned, but appear to be all rested up for this re-match. In fact, the Clippers haven't played since Monday, and have had a few nights off to lick their wounds. Utah, having recently dispatched the cross town Lakers, will attempt to stay perfect.
They will be doing so without Alec Burks, once again. Wing scoring hasn't been a crisis as Rodney Hood has been hitting from deep, and Dahntay Jones has been, well, whatever it is he does, he's been doin' it. Scoring was an issue for LA, and they'll relish having Jamal Crawford back, along with defensive irritant Matt Barnes.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see a Jazz loss tonight, we're due. And the Clippers don't want to CONTINUE being winless this preseason. After all, the games do matter. Just when that is depends on how desperate you are.
And honestly, the Clippers will be desperate to even the score here and split with the Jazz.
It's going to be an interesting game if you enjoy watching the Clippers shoot free throws. That's my analysis here.