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Utah Jazz at LA Clippers: Keys to beating wounded Clips

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 24: Lou Williams #23 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against the Utah Jazz on October 24, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 24: Lou Williams #23 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against the Utah Jazz on October 24, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 24: Lou Williams
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 24: Lou Williams

The Utah Jazz will face off against a similarly injury-plagued LA Clippers team on Thursday as both teams look to earn their fourth straight victory.

If there’s one other team in the league besides the Utah Jazz that may be able to raise their fists in rage directed at the dreaded NBA injury bug, it’s the Los Angeles Clippers. Oddly enough, after matching up against the Jazz in the playoffs last season, the Clips have followed somewhat of a similar trajectory as the Jazz.

Their best player left the team. They were then able to replace him with a significant amount of depth which they hoped they’d be able to ride to success, but have unfortunately been overwhelmed with injury. Sound familiar, Jazz fans?

The major difference, though, is that while both teams have had some struggles this year, the Jazz are sitting at 10-11 and seem to be improving whereas the Clippers are at 8-11, and although they’ve won three straight games, each win has been against poor opponents and the mini-streak came right after a nine-game losing streak.

And things just got a whole lot worse for the Clippers as in their recent victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, fellow Clipper Austin Rivers fell on Blake Griffin’s leg, resulting in an MCL sprain that will keep Griffin – the Clippers’ best player – sidelined for two months.

When considering how poorly they had played before that injury combined with the fact that Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic were already injured and Patrick Beverley is out for the season, it’s evident that the Clips are in big trouble.

Enter Thursday’s contest where Utah will travel to LA for their second showdown of the season. Both teams look significantly different than they did in the first meeting due to the injury onslaught, and both have undergone even greater changes since last season’s playoff match-up. But given the state of both teams, the Jazz should be in good shape to arise victorious as long as they can excel in these three key areas:

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