Game Recap: Jazz 87, Clippers 96

The past few games I've let my kids stay up and watch have been disgusting blowout losses. So it was fun at my household to have a good game. It was one of those games I think just about everyone enjoys.

Those most interested in a hot draft pick got to see a loss. Those more interested in our young players turning themselves into a good team got to see a lot of things to be excited about. Those who want MOAR GOBERT got a little bit of him. Really only the Biedrins fan club would be disappointed in tonight's game.

The Jazz led from the beginning and still held a 10-point lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. And at that point we saw the difference between a good team and a great team.* The Clippers suddenly became a five-man defensive whirlwind, they forced turnovers, they disrupted every pass, and made life very difficult. The Jazz, right now, (a) don't have ability to suddenly turn on the defense like that and (2) don't have the skills and know-how to work through it and get decent shots despite the defense.

Hopefully these are two things we can see the Jazz learn to do in the future.

* I feel happy to compare the Jazz to a good team instead of a crummy one. For this game, at least, they played like a good team. They just got beat by a great one. This is progress.

Three Positives

1. How about that Favors/Kanter frontcourt? It wasn't perfect (Kanter shot poorly), but still ...
2. Trey Burke has put together three strong games in a row, with decent shooting.
3. We got some BBHKF time.

Three Negatives

1. The Clippers turned up the defensive heat, and the Jazz were unable to break it down.
2. Alec and Gordon were hounded all night ... neither were able to be effective scorers. Though Hayward did still give the team 10 assists.
3. Jazz lost, yet by my count only got 27 moral victories instead of the expected 32.

To end:

And this: