Garrett Chorpenning (@gchorp50)
Series MVP:
Call it strange and unusual, but I think this series really comes down DeAndre Jordan’s performance against Rudy Gobert. Gobert is one of the top centers in the NBA, and if he has his way with DJ, it could be a real cause for concern for the Clips. However, that won’t happen. It seems like Jordan always outplays Gobert in head-to-head matchups. If he does more of the same and scores 12+ a night, I think handing DJ the series MVP here is a no-brainer. Without a legit rim protector, defending Gobert is far from an easy task.
X-Factor:
I’m going to side with Leo here and say that Jamal Crawford is the x-factor in this series. It’s well-known that Crawford tends to have his way with Utah more often than not, and his scoring will be necessary if we want to take the Jazz down in the first round. If for some reason our starters aren’t playing up to par, a weak bench performance could spell disaster for us. In that situation, Crawford will be the guy to spark the offense and take over the game as best as he can.
Series Prediction:
Realistically, I don’t see this series going to more than 5 games. The Clippers always fare well against the Jazz, as they went 3-1 against them this season and 17-3 over the last 20 matchups. They’re just “that team” that never really puts up the fight to match us, and it certainly helps now that the Clippers have home court in the series.
Match-up:
I think it’ll be really interesting to see how Luc Mbah a Moute does against Gordon Hayward in this series. Mbah a Moute is hands down one of the best perimeter stoppers in the NBA, and if Hayward is stopped before he gets going then the Jazz are as a good as done. There’s no going through Prince Luc.