Jazz experience deja vu vs. Clippers

The Utah Jazz finished their road trip on a bad note with a very bad loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. There is no way to sugarcoat a game like this, especially when the Jazz led by more than 20 points late in the third quarter. At this point as a Jazz fan, it’s not even worth getting upset, you just hope that this team can turn things around and start playing better basketball by the time the playoffs get here. In the bigger picture the jury is still out on whether the Jazz have what it takes to make a deep run this year but they are certainly aren’t going to doing anything if they are playing like this.

Los Angeles enjoyed seeing the return of star forward Paul George, who finished the game with 34 points and 6 threes. It was an impressive performance considering the fact that he has been out since December 22nd. The Clippers got a standout performance off the bench from Isaiah Hartenstein with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Credit to them for continuing to fight tonight and not giving up. But this loss is more about Utah and the inability to hold a lead than anything else.

Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The Jazz have to be at a loss for words as a team after collapsing yet again. It is unfathomable how a team can play so well for three quarters and then look like the worst team in the league in the fourth, but at this point it looks like might be a mental block that Utah has to overcome. Hopefully, they can get the team chemistry right before the playoffs begin so that they can have a fighting chance to make some noise. Donovan Mitchell lead the team with 33 points on greater than 50% shooting tonight but was stifled in the final minutes of the game ended up calling a timeout that the Jazz didn’t have, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Jazz tonight. This game was not lost by any one player though, everybody shoulders a portion of the blame from this one including the coaching staff.

Thankfully there is still time to turn things around and the season is not over yet but even the most die-hard Jazz fans have got to be worried after this latest stretch. The Jazz limp home after a long five-game road trip to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, while the Clippers will travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls.