Luc Loves Playing the Jazz
The Clippers managed to win 3 out of 4 against the Jazz this season, and a lot of that can be credited to Mbah a Moute’s play. Utah superstar Gordon Hayward struggled mightily in the series. He played in 3 out of 4 contests due to an early season injury, and averaged 15.6 points per game. The outlier was his 27-point game in the lone Utah victory, and he scored 7 and 13 points in the other two. His primary defender was none other than Luc.
It’s also no secret that the Clippers as a whole love playing the Jazz. They’ve won 17 of the last 20 contests against them, and although Utah was far from a playoff team for a few of those seasons, the winning trend hasn’t changed this year.
However, it’s worth noting that this is Utah’s first 50-win season since ’09-’10. They’re a legitimate team with the NBA’s 3rd best defense. The biggest factor in the season series this year was the Jazz’s ability to score. They scored below 100 in 3 of 4 contests, including 2 games where they scored a season-low 72 and 75.
So maybe the LA Clippers’ D just has Utah figured out? And if so, how much of that comes down to Luc? We’d say quite a bit.