*Please note – this video was recorded before the Clippers clinched home court advantage for round one.
Hey Clipper Nation! Playoff match-ups are set and the Clippers will face the Utah Jazz in the first round of the fourth seed vs. fifth seed match-up. The only thing still up in the air is who will end up getting home court advantage. Here’s a quick playoff preview:
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Utah Jazz
The Clippers are on a five-game winning streak and beat the Spurs 98-87 on Saturday night, which is a great sign that they are rounding into form heading into the playoffs. That being said, I think it’s time for the Clippers big three of CP3, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to start living up to expectations and deliver some postseason wins. You can talk about J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford and the rest of the role players all you want, but it’s going to be up to the core of the team to produce and get off to a quick start against a stingy Utah team.
Utah heads into the playoffs with a record of 49-31 sitting atop of the Northwest Division. Led by starting forward Gordon Hayward and center Rudy Gobert, the Jazz are a sneaky good team but their young stars lack postseason experience. They will need guidance from the few savvy veterans who have led this young team to the playoffs, namely Boris Diaw who spent five seasons with the San Antonio Spurs under legendary coach Gregg Popovich, eight year veteran point guard George Hill who made playoff pushes with both San Antonio and Indiana Pacers, as well as fifteen year veteran, Joe Johnson.
This is definitely not going to be an easy playoff round. The Jazz rank first in average points given up per game, so the Clippers may have to find a way to grind out wins against a well-rounded opponent like Utah. You’ll have to watch the entire video to see who I have taking round one!
Los Angeles Clippers Western Conference First Round Playoffs Schedule:
- Game 1 – Sat. April 15 Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
- Game 2 – Tue. April 18 Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m., TNT
- Game 3 – Fri. April 21 L.A. Clippers at Utah, 10 p.m., ESPN2
- Game 4 – Sun. April 23 L.A. Clippers at Utah, 9 p.m., TNT
- Game 5 * Tue. April 25 Utah at L.A. Clippers, TBD
- Game 6 * Fri. April 28 L.A. Clippers at Utah, TBD
- Game 7 * Sun. April 30 Utah at L.A. Clippers, TBD
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Photo Credits (used in video):
- Deandre Jordan: Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA – DeAndre Jordan
- Blake Griffin: Verse Photography– Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles28
- Chris Paul: Verse Photography– Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles41
- Jamal Crawford: Keith Allison
- J.J. Redick posted on flickr by Verse Photography as 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles29
- Gordon Hayward posted on Wikimedia by TonytheTiger
- Rudy Gobert posted on Wikimedia by jan fante
- Boris Diaw – by Keith Allison posted on Flickr as Boris Diaw
- Gregg Popovich – by Zereshk posted on Wikimedia
- George Hill – by Michael Tipton posted on flickr as George Hill
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