NBA Preview: Whichever team, Jazz or Clippers, gets the most help from their others, will prevail in this series.
#5 Utah Jazz (54-34) vs. #4 Los Angeles Clippers (54-34).
Line: Clippers -3.5. Total 190.5.
Series: Tied 3-3.
There is a phrase that Shaquille O’Neal uses on the show NBA on TNT when he talks about teams whose superstar players need help from his teammates. Shaq calls those players “the others”.
Chris Paul finally got some help from the others on the Clippers in Game 6 to stave off elimination with a 98-93 win at Utah. Paul did his part, of course, finishing with 29 points and 8 assists. However, it was the others who helped Paul get this win for the Clippers.
Marreese Speights finally got it going with 9 first-half points. Luc Mbah a Moute also scored 9 points to go along with Paul’s 15 points in the first half. The Clippers went into the locker room with a 47-45 halftime lead.
Austin Rivers got his legs back after scoring just 2 points in his return from a hamstring injury in Game 5. Rivers scored 9 of his 13 points while Jamal Crawford scored all 12 of his points in the second half. DeAndre Jordan had 9 points in the second half to go along with Paul’s 14 second-half points.
Utah’s others did not fare as well in Game 6. Joe Johnson and Rodney Hood, combined for just 13 points. Johnson and Hood combined to shoot 0-for-6 from the field for 2 points in the second half. The duo were key contributors in Game 5, combining for 30 points in Utah’s 96-92 win at the Staples Center.
Joe Ingles had his second straight scoreless game after a big Game 4 performance. Ingles had 8 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds in the game where Gordon Hayward left early due to food poisoning.
Hayward, George Hill and Rudy Gobert did all the heavy lifting in game 6. Hayward rebounded from a slow start in the first half where he scored 6 points, to finish with 31 points. Hill finished with 22 points and Gobert had 15 points and 9 boards before he left in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle. Gobert is listed as probable for Game 7.
The others will determine the Game 7 winner. Paul will get his points for the Clippers, while Hayward will get his points for the Jazz. However, who else will rise up and score points for these two teams?
If JJ Redick, Jordan, Crawford, Rivers, Speights, or Mbah a Moute come through for Los Angeles, they should win Game 7. If Derrick Favors, Boris Diaw, Ingles, Johnson or Hood come through for Utah, they should win Game 7.
It is asking a lot to have the Jazz win three games at Staples Center in one series. Yet that is task ahead of them on Sunday. Utah is ranked #7 in the league with their away record of 23-21 this season. I expect Johnson and Hood to bounce back for Utah, which gives them a great chance to win Game 7.
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