Oh the whacky world of NBA schedules. The Utah Jazz get to pretend its playoff time as they played the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and get to take them on again this afternoon as one of the league’s many Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute games. Thirteen NBA games are scheduled for today.
Friday night, the Jazz looked to make a statement after getting routed by the Denver Nuggets. They beat the Clippers 106-86 at the Energy Solutions Arena.
How did they do it?
They started the game strong, outscoring the Clippers 106-88 and never looked back. The Jazz were lead by Carlos Boozer, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Seven Jazz players score din double digits. The Jazz’s pass first offense was in full effect; the team out assisted the Clippers, 28-19. They were not lead in assists by [{Deron Williams]] who had 6, but by Andrei Kirilenko, who had 7 on the night. The Jazz really look sharp when they can have those two running the offense.
On the defensive end, they did a good job causing problems for the Clippers the whole night. The Clippers wound up turning over the ball 14 teams to the Jazz’s 10. Utah also did a good job throwing off Clippers swingman Corey Maggette. He did lead Los Angeles with 20 points, but he was prevented from adding any assists or rebounds to his stat line.
This afternoon, the Jazz get on the road to play the Clippers at the Staples Center at 3:30 PM ET. Will the Jazz continue their problems on the road?
Timing might benefit the Jazz, as this is the Clip show’s third game in four days. The Jazz have been off since Friday. The Clipper’s fatigue is a benefit for the Jazz. But then again, Utah does like to blow games on the road.
Regardless, the Jazz have to get over their funk. If they did the three things they did last time: execute their offense, defend and force turnovers, they just might be able to pull this out.
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