Preseason Game Thread III: Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers

With their first preseason win on the books, the Utah Jazz travel to Staples Center (sans Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors) where they’ll face the Los Angeles Clippers.

After an extended break, the Utah Jazz are back in action on Monday night. The team will be on the road for the third consecutive game to start the preseason with a bout against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. It will be a tough one with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Lob City in full effect.

The Clippers enter the match-up at 1-1 in the preseason with a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors and an eight-point win over the Toronto Raptors to their credit.

Of course, the last time these two teams met was late last season in a game that had huge postseason implications for the Jazz. And despite the fact that the Clippers were missing most of their big guns, the Jazz ceded the game. It was a devastating loss and one that loomed large when they ultimately failed to secure playoff spot.

If not a legitimate chance for revenge, Monday’s contest might have been a good measuring stick game for the Jazz, save for the team’s injuries.

The big news for the Jazz is that Gordon Hayward has suffered a broken finger and will likely miss several weeks of action. With Derrick Favors and Alec Burks also on the scratch list, it will likely be tough sledding for the Jazz unless Clippers coach Doc Rivers gets crazy experimental with his rotations and rests his starters.

Nevertheless, it continues to be an important game for the Jazz. The team’s summer additions — George Hill, Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson — are still trying to find their places in the Jazz system. Of the three, Hill has been the most successful at integrating himself; the point guard had 11 points, five assists and two steals in Utah’s win over Phoenix.

For Diaw and Iso Joe, it’s been a steeper learning curve. The more time they get on the floor with their new teammates the better.

The same could be said for Dante Exum, who will be playing in just his third actual game since returning from a 15-month rehab process for his knee injury.

Exum impressed with his drive and dish game against the Suns in limited action. Jazz fans were holding their breath when he banged his knee against a chair on his last drive to the hoop and was quickly pulled by Jazz coach Quin Snyder. However, it was only a precautionary move and he should be good to go against the Clippers.

The game could also be a big one for players at the back end of the Jazz preseason roster, i.e. Quincy Ford, Eric Dawson, Marcus Paige and Henry Sims. I would expect to see more run for some of them with the first round of cuts on the horizon.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 8:30 PM MT from Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
TV: NBA TV
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)

Projected Starting Lineups 

This could get funky for the Jazz given their injuries. I think Exum likely starts at the two guard, with Hood sliding to the three spot. Johnson could also move into the starting five at either forward spot. For now, I’m going to guess that Snyder goes with the following–

Utah Jazz

PG: George Hill
SG: Dante Exum
SF: Rodney Hood
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Rudy Gobert

Los Angeles Clippers

PG: Chris Paul
SG: J.J. Redick
SF: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
PF: Blake Griffin
C: DeAndre Jordan

Injuries 

For the Jazz, Alec Burks is still out as he continues his rehab. Meanwhile, Derrick Favors (left knee bone bruise) and Gordon Hayward (broken finger) won’t be with the team. The Clippers will be missing Brice Johnson, who is out indefinitely with a herniated disk.

More from The J-Notes

• With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

Prediction

Preseason games are always hard to pick, but I’m taking the Clippers as 4.5-point favorites. L.A. should be at close to full strength, while the Jazz are missing multiple key players. It’s just the preseason, but we saw what happened last season when the opposite was true.

Discussion

The Twitter hashtag for Monday’s game will be #UTAatLAC. As always, I’ll be hitting you with live tweets @PurpleandBlues1. You can also shoot us your thoughts in the comments below!