Observations from Monday’s hotly-contested preseason contest between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.
In an entertaining game that went down to the wire, the Utah Jazz showed some promising signs and came away with a hard-fought win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was far from a typical preseason match-up between the Western Conference rivals and when physicality came into play, the Jazz looked the more determined of the two. Here are three key takeaways from what was an exhibition game against a potential playoff opponent –
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A Passive Rodney Hood Was Dynamite Offensively
Rodney Hood was willing to attack the rim against the Clips, but passive in his willingness to take perimeter shots. It was curious since whenever he grabbed the ball and called for a pick, you just knew it was going in.
Hood ended the night shooting 7-of-9 from the field with three of his four free throw attempts going down at the line. Scoring the ball came easy, so why did he take just nine shots in 28 minutes of action?
Hood is a premiere offensive player and I think the Jazz will be most successful when Hood is leading the team in field goal attempts, especially with Hayward and Favors not in the lineup. Hopefully we see Hood really get on a tear next game and start hoisting up the three ball again in Wednesday’s bout with the Phoenix Suns.
Joel Bolomboy Shone in Limited Minutes
The former Weber State Wildcat entered the ball game with 5:37 left to play in the fourth and played a brand of basketball that’s dying out in the modern era — straight up bully ball.
The box score will say that he only had two rebounds, but he cleared the way for Chris Johnson to grab seven. He also showed off his 39-inch vertical leap with a huge put-back jam late which was enough to push the Jazz over the line.
Ever since Trevor Booker headed for Brooklyn this summer, I’ve been adamant that the Jazz would need to find a new energy guy; I think we’ve found him. Bolomboy’s ability to rebound the basketball is first-class and his activity on defense and setting screens is unbelievable.
I’ve been wondering in the first two preseason games why Bolomboy wasn’t on the court more after showing in the latter part of the summer league that he can be a valuable contributor and he didn’t disappoint. With Jeff Withey having another poor performance, Quin Snyder could be calling Bolomboy’s name much earlier in games for at least the rest of the preseason.
He’s a player that can be very effective in limited minutes, and playing behind Gobert at center could make the Jazz even tougher in the paint.
Everybody Played Their Role
Whether it was starting, coming of the bench, scoring, rebounding, passing or defending, everyone played with a team-first mentality and helped to get the win.
Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw started in place of the injured Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. Diaw’s basketball IQ was a big factor in the first half as he gathered the ball in bad positions on the floor and was still able to keep the ball moving and make the extra pass. Johnson was a bit sloppy with the ball, but still scored the ball in late shot clock situations.
The point guard duo of Exum and Hill held their own against Chris Paul and company. Dante Exum‘s defense was outstanding off the bench and he produced a game-winning steal against Jamal Crawford in the dying moments of the contest. Meanwhile, George Hill was having himself a night out with a stat line of 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
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Rudy Gobert kept DeAndre Jordan off the glass and gathered five rebounds of his own to go along with nine points in 24 minutes of play.
Chris Johnson had eight points and seven boards, showing up when the Jazz needed him most in the fourth quarter. With Hayward still out for several weeks with a broken finger, Johnson made a nice impression in his quest to make the team.
With three games left in the preseason, and turnovers the only major issue that needs ironing out, you can expect that players fighting for roster spots will strut their stuff towards the end of the game against the Suns.