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2017 NBA Playoffs Roundup, Day 15: Celtics Comeback, Jazz Advance And Clippers Keep Clippin’

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 30, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) reacts during the second half of the Boston Celtics 123-111 win over the Washington Wizards in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) reacts during the second half of the Boston Celtics 123-111 win over the Washington Wizards in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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2017 NBA Playoffs
April 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) dunks to score a basket against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Derrick Does The Clippers No Favors

It’s been a long, rough season for Derrick Favors. Due to injuries — and the lingering rust from those injuries — his long-term fit with the Utah Jazz has repeatedly come into question.

Even though his free agency isn’t until 2018, the Jazz have to deal with the unrestricted free agencies of Gordon Hayward and George Hill (plus Joe Ingles‘ restricted free agency) beforehand.

With Favors’ offensive fit alongside Rudy Gobert being so underwhelming and his numbers plummeting to 9.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season, people have already begun wondering what he might fetch Utah on the trade market.

But even after playing 27 minutes combined in Games 5 and 6, Favors was the difference when his team needed him most in Game 7.

Finishing with 17 points and 11 boards on 8-of-11 shooting, Favors was a spark off the bench for the Jazz. Utah’s second unit was actually outscored by the Clippers’ bench 40-38, but his offensive rebounding and interior defense made a major impact on the game.

Favors fouled out in his 30 minutes, but after being so limited all season long, it was hard NOT to feel happy for him to come up so big in his team’s moment of need.

Only time will tell how one playoff series win factors into this core’s long-term future together, especially since he thrived in a game where Rudy Gobert only played 13 minutes due to foul trouble.

But if the goal was to see how Derrick Favors might be able to help the Jazz in their ascent up the Western Conference ladder, his Game 7 performance against a perennial 50-win Clippers team feels like a pretty good starting point.