What do the LA Clippers need to do to win this series?
Well, they could start with winning some home games for once! Obviously the Clippers will need to steal a game or two on the road in this series against the Jazz in order to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first-time in franchise history, but they are going to need to be much better at home than they were against the Mavericks!
All of Los Angeles’ losses in their series against the Mavs came at home in Staples Center, which is something that cannot happen in this series against the Jazz. Being able to finish games on their home court and not just play at a high-level for three quarters will be extremely important, especially against a team that can fill up the stats sheets like Utah.
READ MORE: NBA Predictions: 3 key takeaways from Game 1 between the Hawks and 76ers
During the regular season, the Jazz finished with the best record in the NBA in large part because of how great they were at protecting their home court. Utah finished with a 31-5 home record, the best in the league, and overall this year, including the playoffs, they are 33-6 at home. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, both regular season and playoffs, the Jazz are 87-29 (75%) in Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Stealing games on the road in this series from the Clippers’ perspective is going to be extremely difficult and they will be lucky to win one game on the road in this series, which is why they need to be able to hold things down on their home court if they are to have a chance at upsetting the Jazz.
Along with being able to win their home games, the Clippers are going to need to utilize more of Luke Kennard and Terance Mann in this series against the Jazz. Kennard only averaged 9.7 minutes per game and 4.3 points per game against the Mavericks in the first-round and Terance Mann only averaged 14.6 minutes per game and 4.3 points per game in the first-round, but both guys stepped up in a big way in Game 7 for Los Angeles.
READ MORE: NBA Predictions: Previewing the Nuggets-Suns Western Conference Semifinals matchup
In 15 minutes off-the-bench, Luke Kennard had 11 points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range and in 26 minutes off-the-bench, Terance Mann had 13 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor for the Clippers. These two guys will need to be huge for the Clippers in this series off-the-bench, but not for the same reasons.
Given how well the Jazz are at shooting the “three-ball,” the Clippers will need to knock down perimeter shots of their own to stay in the game, which is where Kennard can come in handy for them. Kennard shot 44.6% from three-point range during the regular season and could definitely sink a handful of threes in this series against Utah to keep Los Angeles right in the thick of things.
As for Terance Mann, not only does his physicality and will to score help the Clippers on offense, but his defensive tenacity and athleticism is something that could really help Los Angeles in this series. Being able to “contain” Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley is something that will be essential for the Clippers, which is why Mann will have a role with them off-the-bench since he can play tough perimeter defense on both of them.
The Los Angeles Clippers do not face an easy task at all in this series against the Utah Jazz and they will be underdogs given their struggles against Dallas in the first-round, but this is a team with championship pedigree, so we should not be so quick to count out the Clippers just yet.
