Adrian Rivera (@AdrianRiveraNBA)
Series MVP:
Without question, the series MVP will go to Blake Griffin. He has the biggest advantage in his match-up to absolutely dominate this series. Paul and Hill will hold each other in check at times, while Jordan & Gobert will be in a heated battle. Blake will take over. Whoever is guarding him will get blown by, or he will stretch out Rudy with his consistent shooting and knock down his shots. Blake will be a problem for the Jazz. MVP
X-Factor:
It’s going to be a bench player, either Jamal Crawford or Austin Rivers.(Depending on how many games he plays) I am leaning towards Austin Rivers to be the X-Factor. He has played really well against Utah this year. He’s actually a bit of a problem off the bench for them. For his solid play against the Jazz specifically this year, I’m going with Austin.
LA Clippers’ Creative Focus: Check out #BenchOnAQuest
LA Clippers' fan Tony Tonchev took the time to talk to us and gave some info on his #BenchOnAQuest art movement he's working on.
Series Prediction:
This series will go to 6 games… Clippers will eventually win 4-2. I was close to choosing 5 games, but I see the LA Clippers messing one on these games up. Maybe even Game 1 because that is such a “Clippers thing” to do. Utah is a surprise team this year, and no joke they are good, especially defensively. However, the Clippers are a bad team for the Jazz to match up against. Utah will simply not score enough points to keep up with LA. LAC Wins Series 4-2
Match-Up:
Two match ups catch my attention here: DeAndre Jordan vs Rudy Gobert & Chris Paul vs George Hill. They are both important. While I am sure Chris will lock George Hill down for a game or two, I am not so confident in the big man match-up. Gobert is no joke and is becoming quite a player. I have faith in Jordan, but he will need to prove that he’s the better big in this series. I’m looking forward to the rebound battle between these two and seeing who can put up more points. It should be a good one to watch.