Jazz at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers have plenty of momentum and loads of motivation for a long playoff run as they enter a best-of-seven first-round matchup with the Utah Jazz, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday night at the Staples Center. The fourth-seeded Clippers enter the postseason with an NBA-high seven straight wins, which helped them stave off the Jazz for home-court advantage in the first round, and have won 11 of 13 overall.
However, the talented bunch must overcome a recent history of playoff failures that have prevented a perennial contender from getting no further than the second round in five straight appearances. "It increases that desire, that fire to win a championship," forward Blake Griffin told reporters. “But I think we’re all fans of the game of basketball and have watched a lot of great teams and a lot of great players struggle to get to that point. ... It's not something that we're like, 'Oh, poor us,' like we're cursed and we've been through all this stuff. But no, sometimes you have to put in the time and you have to go through some trials and tribulations before you get to where you want." Injuries to Griffin and point guard Chris Paul hurt Los Angeles in a first-round exit against Portland last season and the Jazz - who won seven of their final nine in the regular season - are hoping to do the same as they enter the playoffs as healthy as they've been all season. "Our entire goal was just to get guys back to where they need to be," starting guard Rodney Hood - who was limited to 59 games - told the media. "We had a great regular season, we got 50 wins. Now, we're just trying to have a good couple of days of practice, and get ready for the playoffs."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, ROOT (Utah), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (51-31): Forward Gordon Hayward was the catalyst behind Utah's first playoff berth since 2012, as the Butler product registered career highs in scoring (21.9) and rebounding (5.4) while shooting a healthy 39.8 percent from long range. Forward Derrick Favors, who missed 31 games with knee issues as his production suffered a sharp dip, managed to play three games in the final week of the season after sitting out most of March and told reporters he could play 30 minutes a night if needed. Center Rudy Gobert finish tied for fourth in the NBA in double-doubles (58) and had one in each of the final three meetings with Clippers and their big man DeAndre Jordan, including 26 points and 14 rebounds in a loss at Los Angeles on March 25.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (51-31): Los Angeles scored at least 112 points six times during its seven-game winning streak and had 124 or better on three occasions as an oft-injured bunch finds its rhythm behind floor general Paul. The nine-time All-Star averaged 23.1 points and 10.3 assists while shooting 56 percent in the streak while backup Austin Rivers recovers from a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for a few more games. Jordan had five straight double-doubles to finish the regular season but he was limited to an average of nine points in four meetings with Utah while shooting 51.6 percent, the lowest mark he had against any opponent other than Portland (50 percent).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers won three of four meetings this season, holding the Jazz to an average of 80.7 points in those three victories, and have claimed 18 of the last 20 encounters overall.
2. Utah was 18-6 with Favors and Hood in the starting lineup together.
3. The teams haven't met in the playoffs since 1992, when Utah won a best-of-five first-round series.