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LOS ANGELES — The Utah Jazz blew a 25-point lead to the L.A. Clippers on Tuesday in a 121-115 loss that looked a lot like the Jazz’s Game 6 loss to the Clippers last season when they were sent home from the playoffs.
High Notes
- The return of Rudy Gobert, no matter how short an absence — in this case it was a single game — means being wowed by the amazing defensive sequences that you just don’t get when he’s not in the game. Incredible recovery and forcing guys to dribble out of the paint before they even consider a shot is always going to be impressive.
- I think the thing that impressed me the most about the Jazz through the game (particularly in the first half) was the way that they moved the ball on offense and even when things kind of slowed down, all of the off-ball players were moving a lot. Nothing really felt stagnant.
- This not only seemed like a resurgent game for Mike Conley, but he had an energy about him that you usually don’t see. He was kind of mad and was really precise and strong and smart with the ball.
- The way that the Jazz were handling blitzes and double-teams was really working. Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson were both really great early on at getting off the ball and swinging it really quickly to get open corner shots.
- 10-day signee Greg Monroe got some backup center minutes. He is in maybe the best shape of his career and is a really good passer at that position. Some nice minutes for someone who has never played for this team.
- Listen, the first half looked really, really good. In fact, it looked great. But I guess that we should get to the other stuff.
Low Notes
- I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one that saw the Jazz had a 25-point lead against the Clippers in Los Angeles and thought, ‘oh boy, this could go bad.’ The Jazz played so well in the first half that it was impossible not to think about a collapse. And then the lead kept dwindling and dwindling. And then it was gone. Once again the Jazz blew a 25-point lead to the Clippers. You can’t make this stuff up.
“Just again. Again and again. And in the same way.” — Gobert - I just don’t really know what else to say about this. It was a complete collapse and it was one that we’ve all seen before so we can say that it was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. It was exactly what we’ve seen. It was deja vu. Actually, Maria from Twitter probably said it best:
- Mitchell pulled a Chris Webber and called for a timeout in the waning moments of the game and the Jazz didn’t have a timeout to use. Technical foul.
“I just didn’t know and that’s on me. As a leader you have to know.” — Mitchell - The Jazz had a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Jazz turned the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter. The Jazz had zero fast break points and zero second-chance points in the fourth quarter.
Flat Notes
- Trent Forrest was inadvertently hit by the back of Gobert’s forearm in the first half and after being examined by team personnel and experiencing concussion-like symptoms he was taken to a local hospital for further testing. Not only do you not want anyone to get hurt but for someone that has already had a concussion this season, you just worry. And add on top of all of that, Forrest hasn’t been signed to a regular deal yet. If he’s going to miss significant time that might mean that he doesn’t get signed for the playoffs. Not saying that’s going to happen, it’s just something to consider and it’s not great.