3 studs and 1 dud from Utah Jazz revenge win over Clippers
The Utah Jazz probably shouldn’t have invested too much in winning a regular season contest against a shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers team. Still, a dominant 124-103 victory over the team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs had to be pretty satisfying.
The Jazz boast by far the most efficient offense in the NBA with a 119.27 Offensive Rating. Last night, that efficiency was on full display. The team shot a blistering 47/89 (52.8%) from the field, and 15/37 (40.5%) from deep. When you hit shots with that level of accuracy, you typically can’t lose an NBA game.
Which, of course, the Jazz did not. Here are three studs and one dud from their demolition of the Los Angeles Clippers last night.
Utah Jazz stud: Rudy Gobert
Last night, Clippers head coach Tyrone Lue opted against using the small-ball strategy that yielded so much success against the Utah Jazz in the postseason last year.
That may have been a mistake.
Ivica Zubac got his usual starting nod, but finished with 18 minutes in total. Isaiah Hartenstein is enjoying a breakout year in Los Angeles, and Lue accordingly rewarded him with 25 minutes.
Hartenstein is a good player, but you don’t fight fire with fire when the flames rise as high as Rudy Gobert’s 7’9 wingspan.
Gobert had a field day in this contest against lesser bigmen. He finished with 20 points on 8/10 shooting, 17 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Whether he was matched up with Zubac or Hartenstein, he controlled the glass and scored at will. Both of the conventional centers in Lue’s rotation are solid, but neither is even remotely a match for the Stifle Tower.
The Clippers were without Nicolas Batum last night, who was their go-to option as a small ball 5 in the playoffs last season. Still, they should have considered giving Justise Winslow some run in that position. He’s not exactly a reliable three-point threat, but Gobert still would have been forced to leave the paint to cover him.
Utah Jazz fans are not complaining about Lue’s decisions today.