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Clippers vs Jazz Preview: A Big Game for the Standings
The Clippers will seek to win their sixth game in a row against the team right above them in the standings, the Utah Jazz.
Game
Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Jazz: Keyonte George – Brice Sensabaugh – Taylor Hendricks – Lauri Markkanen – Jusuf Nurkic
Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – John Collins – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Jazz: Walker Kessler Out (Shoulder), Ace Bailey Out (Hip), Georges Niang Out (Foot)
Clippers: Bogdan Bogdanovic Out (Hamstring), Ivica Zubac Out (Ankle), Bradley Beal Out (Hip), Chris Paul Out (Not with team)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers’
win streak has reached five games, with their most emphatic being their
demolishing of the Kings on Tuesday night. That massive 43-point victory raised
their offensive rating from 17th in the NBA to 11th,
brought their defensive rating up from 26th to 22nd, and
boosted their net rating from 24th to 19th. In short, the
Clippers’ metrics are finally starting to take the shape of a competent/mediocre
team instead of an awful one – big strides from a couple of weeks ago. Kawhi
Leonard remains scorching hot, role players are continuing to hit threes, and
the defense is holding a semblance of organization and activity that it did not
have early in the season. Hello, 2026 Clippers, it’s been nice of you to
finally show up.
The
Antagonist
The Jazz have surprised so far this season, as their record of 12-20 is a lot more competent than most people would have predicted heading into the year. The Jazz are winning games entirely on the offensive end, as they somehow boast the 13th ranked attack in the NBA. Nearly all of the Jazz’s damage is done by Lauri Markkanen (insanely efficient scoring and diverse scoring package) and Keyonte George (having a truly shocking breakout third season), with most of the rest of the team being in support roles. The Jazz’s defense is what lets them down, as without Walker Kessler they possess basically no plus defenders on the entire roster. They are a dangerous team that plays hard and has two legit weapons, which is why they’ve beaten multiple very good teams this year. You can’t sleep against the Jazz.
Notes
Must Win Part Two, Electric Boogaloo: All of the caveats I wrote for the Kings game apply here. But this is another game the Clippers simply need to win if they want to continue their climb into the playoff picture. The Jazz, as mentioned above, are not awful, but the Clippers are at home, have been getting steady rest, and are playing well. In terms of the standings, if the Clippers win this one, they will be tied with the Jazz for 11th in the West, putting them, somehow, just one spot back of the play-in. Another blowout like the Kings game would be fantastic, but any sort of Clippers’ win would be huge for the standings and to keep their momentum rolling.
Kawhi Leonard, Superstar: The biggest change over the past two weeks is that Kawhi Leonard has elevated from a level of “very good” to “superstar”. He can’t miss a shot, which helps, but the biggest changes to me are on defense and on the glass. Kawhi has mostly been extremely effective on offense this season and last season, yet the rest of his game (and impact metrics) lagged. Now, those other elements are rounding into place, and are a big reason the Clippers’ defense suddenly looks competent. Kawhi’s BPM of 7.5 is superstar caliber, and he’s now 5th in the league in EPM. If he continues playing like this, Kawhi will be rightfully back in awards discussions such as All Star and All NBA. The crazy shooting won’t last forever, but hopefully the rest of his game will sustain.
Clippers vs Jazz Preview: A Big Game for the Standings
Robert Flom