The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: Keys to a First Round Victory over the LA Clippers

Jared Woodcox|
Oct 30, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) battle under the basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 88-75. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) battle under the basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 88-75. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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Mar 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) in the second half of the game against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. Clippers won 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) in the second half of the game against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. Clippers won 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Prediction

My heart says that the Jazz can win the series, however my gut tells me they won’t. My eyes say that a fully healthy Jazz squad has the talent and depth to topple the Clippers, but my brain remembers too many times when the Jazz have broken their fans’ hearts and failed to live up to hype or expectations.

Based on how exhilarating this season has been and how easy it’s become to have high hopes for this team, it feels as if those bad memories may be bound to repeat themselves.

However, it’s also extremely obvious why it’s so easy to be conflicted about the outcome of this series. These teams are similar and evenly-matched in many fashions, from their record, to their net rating, to their pick-and-roll offense, to their towering traditional centers and of course the simple fact that the four-five match-up always seems to feature two relatively comparable squads.

But unfortunately LA has been able to make light work of the Jazz in the majority of their recent contests and though I truly expect this to be a more hard-fought series than some of the regular season games, LA’s recent success over the Jazz combined with the home court advantage that the Clippers have earned is making me lean towards them winning the series.

The Jazz have a lot to prove before I’m confident in their chances of taking a seven-game series from a highly-experienced Clippers team. Of course winning the series would be more than enough proof, but until that happens I’m going to predict that LA takes the series in a hard-fought six games.

Prediction – Clippers in 6

More from The J-Notes

For those of you who have followed my week preview pieces all season long, you know that I finished the year correctly predicting the outcome of 53 out of Utah’s 82 games. That happens to mean that I got it wrong about 35 percent of the time. I certainly hope this time falls under that 35 percent as nothing would thrill me more than to see the Jazz advance to the second round of the playoffs.

It won’t be easy, but if they are to do so, each of these three keys that I’ve detailed will be absolutely vital. With two teams that are so evenly-matched, there’s no doubt in my mind that if Utah can take care of business in the areas that I mentioned, it will give them enough of an advantage to arise victorious.

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