Gobert, Mitchell Carry the Streaking Jazz to Victory in L.A.

Gobert and the Jazz shut down the Clippers in L.A. (Photo via clippers.com)

At one point in the 2018-19 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers were streaking up the Western Conference standings and the team to beat. As of late, however, they had been struggling. They came into their game against the Utah Jazz having lost three in a row and hoping to get back on track at home. But Rudy Gobert had a different idea. 

Anchored by Gobert, the Jazz took an early lead and then never looked back with a convincing 129-109 win. The Jazz are now 24-21 on the season, .500 on the road (13-13), and tied for the No. 8 spot in the wild, wild west. 

Who else led the Jazz but Spida and the French Rejection. Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Gobert were both superb.

Per radio voice David Locke, at one point in the game, the Clippers were shooting 19-for-50 when Gobert was on the court. The Stifle Tower altered more than a handful of shots and then grabbed loose balls and rebounds with all his might. He finished the game with 23 points (on 10 shots!), 22 rebounds, and four blocks. 

Playing point guard again — more on that below — Mitchell was solid in the win. The Clippers were throwing everything they had at Mitchell, with above-average defenders like Avery Bradley and Patrick Beverley assigned to the task of slowing down the surging Spida. They picked him up at 94 feet, forced him to his weak side, and then the team threw two bodies at him after any pick and roll and crashed his lane whenever he got into the paint. Consequently, Mitchell had five turnovers and some rushed shots (he finished 0-for-5 from deep), but he still managed another complete game: 28 points, six assists, and three steals. 

Quick Recap

After one, the Jazz were up nine thanks to a 12-2 run in three minutes while forcing the Clippers to six straight misses before Montrezl Harrell got a layup to go with about a minute left in the stanza. After tying a career-high with 25 rebounds against the Pistons, Gobert wanted some more as he had nine in the first 12 minutes. 

By halftime, the lead trimmed slightly, 56-49, as Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver combined for 25 points off the bench in the first half to help stave off a Clipper run. Bradley was perfect from deep en route to a team-high 11 first-half points, while Harrell popped in ten off the bench for Los Angeles. All told, the Jazz forced the Clippers into a 47% eFG half, which is fantastic. 

Since December 1, LAC had the 29th best defense which is the opposite of fantastic. It showed as the Jazz were able to extend their lead, 88-72, entering the fourth quarter. Once the fourth hit, Korver and Crowder kept exploding off the bench to keep the lead out of reach. Remember, Crowder was 3-for-30 in his last three outings coming into the night, but finished Wednesday night with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. As Salt City Hoop statistician extraordinaire Riley Gisseman pointed out, Kyle Korver is averaging 10 3-point baskets per 36 minutes, the highest of his career. He had all of the second quarter points for the Jazz until he found Crowder for a midrange jumper with three minutes left til intermission. Korver finished the game with 19 points, 4-of-5 from three. You might also be interested to know that the Jazz pre-Korver had a 47% winning percentage, while post-Korver is 61%. 

Makeshift lineups: Point Mitchell

With starting point Ricky Rubio sidelined with a hamstring injury, sophomore Donovan Mitchell was moved to be the lead guard. Partly due to this positional adjustment, and also a lighter schedule, the Jazz are clicking. They’ve won five in the row and seven of their last eight. 

In the Western Conference, stars pepper the guard position on a nightly basis – James Harden is scoring half-a-century every other night; Steph Curry can hit 10 threes from halfcourt; Russell Westbrook averages a triple-double. Despite all of this and much more, Mitchell was named the Western Conference Player of the Week with his balanced, efficient play in the absence of Rubio. 

With the ball in his hands, Mitchell can initiate the offense instead of waiting off-ball or for dribble hand-offs to do so. He is getting others involved, averaging six assists in the last five games, which seems to have opened the game (and lane) for himself. On top of that, a new jump shot from deep is dropping with a bit more arc and a lot more confidence. 

Alongside Mitchell in this new starting lineup is Royce O’Neale, who isn’t doing anything flashy but everything right. He is simply a plus on the floor every night. In the limited minutes of this DM45 and Rolls Royce pairing, the Jazz are nearly +30 with the other starters in a five-man unit.  Take Favors out and put in Crowder and the +/- is still high, +24. 

Once again, Jazz can’t score when either of Donovan or Ingles sits. In those minutes they really need guys like Grayson and Royce to focus on creating points through energy plays. Instead, the offense becomes a bit of a parody of itself.

— dan clayton (@danclayt0n) January 17, 2019

Offensive Play of the Game

unreal, man. pic.twitter.com/jV18tTQGxA

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 17, 2019

Defensive Play of the Game

BLOCKED BY NIANG pic.twitter.com/z9rXV1cH04

— Taylor Griffin (@griffdunk) January 17, 2019