Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers: Keys to the Game
Key Match-up – George Hill and Chris Paul
I had pinned this duo as the key match-up leading up to the Jazz’s prior meeting with the Clippers and although Chris Paul undeniably won the contest, Utah was still able to prevail thanks largely to the fact that George Hill was able to have a strong game himself despite struggling to contain CP3.
Paul finished the game with an impressive 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting and five made threes. Utah simply had no answer for him (or for backup Austin Rivers for that matter) and LA’s stellar point guard play nearly proved to be Utah’s undoing.
Particularly on the Clippers home court and considering how unlikely it is that Utah forces Blake Griffin into a repeat of his 3-of-8 for eight points performance from the last meeting, the Jazz will undoubtedly have to do a better job tomorrow against LA’s point guards, specifically Chris Paul.
Chris Paul : Season-high 33 points (11-21 shooting, 5-11 from 3 & 6-6 from the line), 6 rebounds, 7 assists & only 1 turnover in 35 minutes pic.twitter.com/sNXhgypmcc
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) March 14, 2017
Truth be told, though, George Hill was more than proficient offensively as he managed 19 points on a respectable 7-of-15 outing while also doling out six assists and grabbing eight boards. Not to mention, he did end the game with the second highest plus/minus among Jazz starters, so it would stand to reason that Paul’s outpouring didn’t rest solely on his shoulders.
And Hill doesn’t necessarily have to outscore Paul in order to tilt this match-up in favor of the Jazz. If he can have an efficient night offensively while forcing his Clippers counterpart into just the opposite, there’s an excellent chance that Utah will be in a good spot to come away with a victory.
Of course the trouble with the Clippers is they have so many weapons beyond Chris Paul, most notably Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, that can truly hurt you. The Jazz were able to contain LA’s big men and thus withstand Paul’s onslaught last time, but even if Paul is stopped this time around, allowing the other two Clippers stars to go off can still be a death sentence.
Therefore, while slowing Chris Paul to prevent him from having as big of game as last time certainly has to be a crucial point of emphasis for the Jazz, it’s also by no means the end-all.