Thread by @presidual

Clippers - Jazz Game 3 Thread:

Every NBA game seems to begin at least 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, which means LA gets going at least another 5 minutes thereafter. Utah strikes first, again, 8-0.

Utah ended up with nothing to show for it, but this was a great pass by Donovan Mitchell. Kawhi and Paul George trapped, yet Mitchell was able to identify the open shooter and deliver a difficult two-handed overhead pass to Joe Ingles, who had a good look but missed.

My bad on the previous tweet: the shooter was Bojan Bogdanovic.

https://twitter.com/presidual/status/1403880121501503490

Shot distribution continues to favor Utah. After Q1, more than half of the Jazz’s shots have come from 3. With the Clippers, it’s under a third. They also have just one trip to the free throw line, as they’re forced into a lot of midrange jumpers.

Nice Gortat screen by Ivica Zubac to free up Paul George — one of the limited shots at the rim by the Clippers thus far.

Kawhi’s been uncharacteristically inefficient to start the game, but this was a brilliant steal from Donovan Mitchell, who was in the midst of hot shooting. Vintage Klaw.

Paul George’s up to 20 points on 14 true shot attempts, including 4-5 from deep. He started off lackluster, but has picked it up. With him, especially in this series, it’s less about efficiency than aggression. Just keep shooting and attacking.

This is the benefit of an aggressive Paul George. He attacks Donovan Mitchell in transition and draws Rudy Gobert, allowing Nic Batum to cut and get an open dunk.

In the first half, Donovan Mitchell (16), Joe Ingles (14), and Jordan Clarkson (11) accounted for 41 of Utah’s 49 points (84%). The Jazz will need to find a way to get the others involved offensively.

The Jazz are down by 15 and have a below-average true shooting percentage (54%) — and that’s with more than half of their shots from deep, where they converted 48%. The offense needs to diversify. They had just 1 trip to the line in the first half.

In the first half, besides efficient shooting, the Clippers grabbed 7 offensive boards (32% OREB rate) and committed just 2 turnovers. They had an edge over the Jazz in these two factors.

It’s always a sight to behold when Kawhi is active on defense. He can be really disruptive.

Here’s the advantage of the Clippers small-ball lineup in full display. With Nic Batum in the slot, Rudy Gobert can’t drop like he normally would. That causes just enough of a hesitation on Kawhi’s drive to give him a clean dunk.

Through 3 games, the Clippers have outscored the Jazz by 17, although they’re down 2-1 in the series.