Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Five Things to Watch For

Can Rudy Gobert Outplay DeAndre Jordan?

One of the most touted match-ups of this series has been none other than the battle of the bigs – Rudy Gobert and DeAndre Jordan. Of course, Jazz fans are all too familiar with the fact that Jordan is the one who earned an All-Star bid which many felt belonged to Gobert. Based on how much Rudy stepped up in the second half of the season, it’s hard to argue against that logic.

Rudy’s post-All-Star break stats were breathtaking on both ends of the floor as he averaged 16.7 points on 70.1 percent shooting from the field, 13.1 rebounds and three blocks. For an idea of where else he happened to dominate all season long, just take a quick glimpse at the tweet below:

However, much like Gordon Hayward (and unfortunately the Jazz as a team apparently), Gobert didn’t exactly have his best games when matched up against DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers. With exception to the last game against LA in which Gobert came out firing on all cylinders, he averaged just 9.7 points against the Clippers and in the four games combined put up a plus/minus of -47.

On the bright side, Gobert was able to slow Jordan for the most part in the four bouts as DeAndre averaged just nine points against Utah this season. However, Jordan was formidable in enough other areas that he was able to give his team the edge over the Jazz in three of the four contests.

Clearly, both are defensive giants and have been able to consistently stop one another this season. If one of them can break free from the tough defensive clutches of the other and have a couple of big offensive games (much like Rudy did in the final contest against LA), it could end up being the difference-maker in the series.