Los Angeles Clippers
The Utah Jazz have played pretty well against the Clippers this season if you ask me. They beat up on them early in the season when both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were sitting.
They lost the next contest of the season series in Staples Center, but that game was close and looked very winnable if the Jazz would have played with more heart. The most recent contest between the two was the Jazz’s most convincing win of the season.
Boosted by the addition of Jordan Clarkson, Utah’s bench went toe-to-toe with the Clippers bench that boasts two candidates for Sixth Man of the Year. Donovan Mitchell out-dueled Kawhi Leonard individually in the fourth quarter, and even threw down this poster dunk (7:42).
So why are the Clippers part of this group of teams that intimidate Jazz nation? The answer is two words: Load Management.
Their star player Kawhi Leonard is the epitome of load management in the modern NBA. He was part of the group of Spurs players that started the trend back in 2014, and continued it to an extreme level in his only season in Toronto.
The result? Kawhi was the best player in the 2019 NBA playoffs by a long shot. He played 39 minutes a game throughout the postseason, and was able to minimize reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals.
He carried the Raptors to a championship last June, and he’s a safe bet to do the same with the Clippers this year. When the playoffs come, Leonard is on another level.
In addition to this, the Clippers roster itself is yet to completely gel. Paul George, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams haven’t played a game with Leonard all that often this season. With their remaining schedule being soft, expect them to be scary come April.
Also don’t forget the addition of Marcus Morris at the trade deadline. If the Utah Jazz face the Clippers in the playoffs, it won’t be the same team they beat two months ago. I’d take the Clippers in six games over the Jazz.