Game 82: LA Clippers vs Utah Jazz
Wednesday, April 10 at 7:30 PM
Last season: Jazz won series 3-1
Not much has changed for the Utah Jazz since last season, not that much has needed to. With one of the most underappreciated rosters in basketball, the Jazz pulled off a major upset over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, and put up a decent fight against the Houston Rockets in the next.
All of this happened because, well, Donovan Mitchell is unfair. People expected him to be good, but lead-a-borderline-playoff-team-to-that-great-of-a-season-good certainly wasn’t an expectation. The 21-year-old averaged a team-high 20.5 points per game for a Jazz team that recorded 48 wins in an extremely competitive Western Conference, and was runner-up to Ben Simmons for the Rookie of the Year honors.
Fortunately, the Clippers have a pair of neutralizers in their backcourt that can slow Mitchell down. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do about Rudy Gobert‘s giant frame down low. Even when both of these teams aren’t fighting hard for a playoff spot, this series should still be one of the better ones of the season.
Assuming everything goes right for both squads, each team’s postseason hopes could come down to this final game, a la Nuggets v. Timberwolves last season. If that’s the case, the Clippers certainly have the advantage at home.