Utah Jazz or Los Angeles Clippers: Who poses the biggest threat to the Phoenix Suns?

The Utah Jazz-LA Clippers series in the Western Conference semifinals has lived up to the hype of having two of the best three teams coming into the playoffs.

It has been a mix of good coaching from Quin Snyder and Ty Lue, respectively, to make adjustments as the series has gone along, as well as star players stepping up on both ends of the court.

Whoever advances will face the third team to round out the top Western Conference contenders with the Phoenix Suns lying in wait for the victor. While Chris Paul’s coronavirus protocols might get the Suns off to a slow start in the next round, the result of the Conference Finals will largely depend on who comes out of the Jazz-Clippers series.

Utah Jazz

The regular season was dominated by the Utah Jazz from start to finish. A lot of this had to do with good health: reigning champions and last year’s Finals teams struggled to stay injury free, and the amount of players that entered Covid-19 distancing protocols throughout the year meant few teams managed to go for any stretch of games without being interrupted.

The Jazz got off to an impressive lead over the rest of the conference to start the season, not just because of their health, but also because of the team’s elite defense and the well-balanced offense.

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The defense is built around the Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who covers up any mistakes made by the guards on the perimeter, but everyone understands their rotations.

Mike Conley has been one of the smarter guards in the NBA throughout his career, but he is yet to suit up in this series. He is frustrated with a hamstring injury, but as the Jazz face elimination, we could see him return to put everyone on the team in the right spot on offense and defense.

Donovan Mitchell might be undersized but he is athletic enough to stay with his assignment. And Royce O’Neale is one of the better wing-stoppers in the league.

Only two teams kept opponents to fewer points than Utah did during the regular season, but that shouldn’t concern the Phoenix Suns because they knocked out one of those teams in the first round of the playoffs – the LA Lakers.

On the other end of the court, the Jazz were a top-four scoring team in the league this season. Mitchell has improved as a scorer every year, and is posting a career best three-point percentage and effective field goal percentage. Conley is more settled this season after struggling last year, while Gobert is playing the most efficient basketball of his career, and in the league. This team also boasts two players who were candidates for Sixth Man of the Year Award – Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles – as well as Bojan Bogdanovic, who can heat up quickly and hit his first six threes on Wednesday to open the first half.

Utah is one of just two teams who feature in the top seven teams in terms of points scored and fewest points allowed during the regular season. The only issue is that the Suns are the other.

Both sides are very similar in their roster construction: they both have veteran point guards, stud shooting guards, good defensive big men who are efficient on offense and a number of role players who can be their best perimeter defenders. Utah has a better bench – they finished eighth in scoring with 38.9 points per game in the regular season – while Phoenix was an average team outside of their starters.

This would possibly give the Jazz the edge when the likes of Chris Paul, Devin Booker or Deandre Ayton go to the bench, but rotations are shorter in the playoffs and this advantage has since disappeared, as the Suns’ bench is scoring 28.5 points per game so far in the post-season, while Utah is managing just 28.1

LA Clippers

Prior to Kawhi Leonard’s heart-breaking injury, the LA Clippers looked set to create the most intriguing match-up with the Phoenix Suns. While the Utah Jazz arguably compare well to the Suns on paper, player for player, it is often a clash of styles – which we would see with a Clippers-Suns series – that sees the most entertaining basketball and the more creative coaching adjustments.

Now that Leonard is out, the Clippers have to rely on Paul George, and that didn’t go too badly in Game 5 of the Jazz series.

Leonard always gets his numbers, but sometimes George can disappear, and he is often the barometer for how well the team will do in any particular game. A sub-20-point outing? Mark down as a likely loss. A couple of 31-point performances at home? You bet they were wins.

At his best, George has a sleek game and is able to angle his shoulders to glide through defenses to lay the ball up. He is a streaky shooter but can heat up from distance, and on defense his length can cause issues for most opponents.

Without Leonard, it’s important for George to stick to his game and trust in coach Ty Lue and his team-mates to increase their production. This is exactly how LA stole a game in Utah and now has a chance to close out the series on their home court.

Marcus Morris is more than happy to shoot but it isn’t always the most efficient offense. If Nicolas Batum offers any scoring, it’s as a cherry on top of the excellence he offers as one of the smartest and lengthiest defenders on the court. Reggie Jackson helped the Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks in the last round, and showed he is not afraid to take the big shot on Wednesday.

Lue started Terance Mann in Game 5 with Leonard out, and he made the most of the opportunity. Typically a four-point scorer in 13 minutes per game during these playoffs, Mann scored 13 in 25, which included a steal (one of two) and a breakaway bucket early, and a baseline dunk over the Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

Luke Kennard’s minutes increased, and while he didn’t have a huge performance. He tends to play better with more time on the ball, so if he gets chances during the rest of the playoffs, he might start to look like the player the Clippers signed to a $64 million contract at the start of the season.

Without Leonard, it’s hard to imagine the Clippers advancing but they took a big step towards doing so this week. How they will compete in the Conference Finals and Finals without one of the best players in basketball, however, is hard to imagine. If LA advances, it might not be worth it unless Leonard returns.

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