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Utah Jazz at LA Clippers: Keys to beating wounded Clips

By Jared Woodcox

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: LA Clippers come together before game 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: LA Clippers come together before game 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) /

Key #2 – Force Clippers into tough passes

Without Chris Paul in the mix, the LA Clippers have dropped dramatically in their assists this year and their lack of effective ball movement has been quite clear as a result. The Clips rank just 27th in the league in assists per game at just 20.3 and not only did they just lose their top scorer in Blake Griffin, but they also just so happened to lose their top assist man. Griffin was responsible for 5.1 assists per game for his Clippers team before going down to injury.

With that being the case, they may struggle dramatically without much of a distributor at all and few who can orchestrate solid ball movement. Not only that, but the Clippers are actually pretty turnover prone as they currently rank 20th in the league with 15.7 giveaways per game.

Therefore, it will be vital that the Jazz play hard on the ball and force LA to move the ball much more than they’re accustomed to. Not only has assisting on made baskets and moving the ball effectively not been the Clippers’ primary method of scoring, but forcing them to do so could also generate several additional turnovers on which Utah could convert. If the Jazz are able to clog the passing lanes and make sharing the ball difficult for LA, it will likely stymie their offense and cause them to play out of rhythm.

Especially without Blake Griffin in the mix, it’s going to be a challenge for LA to maintain their typical chemistry or cohesion, so if Utah throws a further wrench in that with suffocating defense on the ball and in the passing lanes, they could very well find themselves big winners in this one.

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