10/24 Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers: Keys to the Game

It seems like just yesterday that the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers were going at one another in a tightly contested seven-game playoff series. That first round contest between two evenly matched teams was arguably the most exciting series of last year’s postseason and Utah’s victory was certainly memorable.

However, a lot has happened since then as both teams have undergone dramatic changes to their rosters as the Clippers lost the likes of Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick while the Jazz lost their two leading scorers in Gordon Hayward and George Hill. Still, enough players that faced off against one another in the postseason are still on each team and that should lead to plenty of bad blood and determination between these two opponents.

Although the Clippers have only faced two weak foes so far this year in the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, there’s no questioning that they’ve looked solid and, much like the Jazz, their new-found depth ought to help them be a daunting match-up all season long. Thus, Tuesday’s contest is bound to be a great measuring stick for the Jazz and one in which they’ll have to be at the top of their game if they hope to come out on top.

Utah played absolutely incredibly in their victory over the Thunder last week and they’ll have to put up a similar performance as well as thrive in the following key areas to top what has been a red-hot Clippers team thus far.