The Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz collide in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals at the Vivant Arena on Tuesday night.
The Los Angeles Clippers are coming into this series with plenty of momentum after beating the Mavericks by 126-111 in Game 7 on Sunday night. Kawhi Leonard led the team with 28 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals, Marcus Morris drained seven 3-pointers to finish with 23 points while Paul George chipped in with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. As a team, the Clippers shot 50 percent from the field and a healthy 20 of 43 from the 3-point line as they as they poured in 35 points in the second quarter to take the eight-point lead into halftime, before going on another push in the third quarter to lead by as many as 19 points. Defensively, the Clippers never couldn’t contain the Mavericks Luka Doncic who gave them fits all series, but their bench outscored the Mavericks’ bench by 27-6.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have had almost a week of rest and they are currently riding a four-game win streak after blowing out the Grizzlies in a 126-110 win in Game 5 on Wednesday. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 30 points and 10 assists on 11 of 16 shooting, Jordan Clarkson added 24 points, Rudy Gobert added 23 points with 15 rebounds and three blocks while Royce O’Neale and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 17 points. As a team, the Jazz shot 51 percent from the field and 17 of 44 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates with 47 points in the first quarter to jump out to an early double-digit lead, before using another push in the third quarter to push the margin out to 35 points in a game where they never trailed.
Looking at the betting trends, the Clippers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Jazz are 25-12 ATS in their last 37 home games, 4-0 ATS in their last four games against a team with a winning record and 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall.
Head to head, the under is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings overall, the Clippers are 3-9 ATS in the last 12 meetings overall and the Clippers are 8-20-1 ATS in the last 29 meetings in Utah.
The Clippers finally managed to sneak past the Mavericks in the first round, but they were far from convincing as it took plenty of heroics from Leonard after dropping the first two games of the series. Meanwhile, the Jazz have been waiting patiently as they coasted past the Grizzlies once Mitchell joined the team and they’re always tough to beat at the Vivint Arena, which doesn’t bode well for the Clippers who lost three of their four home games against the Mavericks. I have the Jazz winning this series in six games and I think it starts with a win and cover in Game 1.