Utah Jazz: Takeaways From Game 6 Loss To Clippers

The Bench Battle

Although the Clippers have the best player in the series in Chris Paul, one advantage many gave the Jazz was their depth and strong bench play.

They had talented players like Rodney Hood, Derrick Favors and Joe Johnson to bring in, while Los Angeles is relying on streaky shooters like Jamal Crawford to carry the team while the stars are off the floor.

However, in Game 6, these roles more or less reversed. The Jazz had just three players finish in double figures for scoring, while the Clippers had five score 10 or more points. Austin Rivers rebounded well from a poor Game 5 showing to put up 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Jamal Crawford also had a nice game, scoring 12 points and finishing a team-high +19. Even the notoriously offensively-limited Luc Mbah a Moute got into the act, scoring 13 points on eight shots all while once again holding Hayward to a subpar shooting day.

Backup center Marreese Speights scored nine points over an eight-minute stretch, tormenting the less-mobile Derrick Favors for three-pointers and offensive rebounds.

On the Jazz side, Favors was a huge disappointment, making just one of his six shots and playing only 14 minutes. He certainly wasn’t the only one to fall short of expectations, as playoff savior Joe Johnson also had somewhat of an off game, shooting 3-for-9.

The Jazz will have to hope that their bench will be able to bounce back for Game 7, as there’s not much else the main pieces will be able to do against a formidable Clippers defense wound up to stop them.