GENERAL SYNOPSIS
Both teams started the game shot out of a cannon shooting the lights out in the first quarter including 15 points from Paul George. Both teams tied entering the 2nd quarter. The second quarter was owned by Utah as the Clippers weren't able to produce with Paul George off the court, only mustering 5 points until a late 3 right before PG's sub back into the game. Once PG came back into the game his presence alone was enough to close in on the previously widening gap. Despite this the Jazz won the quarter 34 to 27 and entered halftime with a 63 to 56 lead with Paul George leading all scorers with 24 points on 9/12 shooting. In the 3rd quarter both teams were constantly exchanging and went back and forth until late in the third John Wall who had 0 points scored 8 points at the end to give the Clippers a 84 to 85 lead heading into the fourth. In the 4th it was a lot of fouling and a lot of free throws. The Jazz dominated the quarter with free throws and some really good and 1 conversions from Collin Sexton. The Clippers missed all three point attempts which ended with 15 missed straight
IN DEPTH ANALYSIS
The killer for the Clippers here was a very inconsistent performance from John Wall as well as a polar opposite 2nd half from the team as a whole. George couldn't get his shot to fall and went 2/10 in the second half getting majority of his points off of free throws. John Wall in addition was only helpful in short spurts of this game. As mentioned before Wall gave the Clippers a massive spark heading into the 4th as well as in the beginning of the 4th. Wall went 0/4 at the free throw line and was very sloppy with the ball. Although he finished with only 1 turnover, he threw many passes that killed momentum. Passes that were tipped and ruined transition buckets as well as passes to the wrong man. Wall needs to be more consistent and he needs to hit his jump shot. He was 6/15 from the field and all of his made shots were finishes. Granted some of them were really tough and resulted in and 1 opportunities. However he was 0% at the free throw line on the day and wasn't able to capitalize. Air balling mid range and 3 point shots and not even being able to hit the rim, his jump shot was not good tonight. Paul George in the second half was also not helpful. He finished with 5 turnovers and had multiple 3 point opportunities to knock down shots but couldn't deliver. Despite that however I don't think he was the reason they lost although he played a part. There were definitely positives to this game such as Terrance Mann providing really efficient points shooting 7/8 on the day. However he needs to stay out of foul trouble cause once he got that 4th foul he wasn't able to be nearly as aggressive on defense and it resulted in many defensive mishaps although not all blame deserves to go to Mann. Marcus Morris Sr played well in the first half but needs to do better from the 3 pt line shooting 1/7 on the day, The Clippers have some good things going here but they just need to play a full game of basketball and they need players like John Wall to play better. Lastly to end off the recap I'll talk about Reggie Jackson and Norman Powell. Both players today were not aggressive and when they did get opportunities were not able to deliver. Jackson only played 19 minutes in the game but only had 3 shot attempts the whole game and made 1. Powell on the other hand took more shots in 21 minutes but went 3/8 and was 0/3 from the 3 point line. He looked afraid to attack the basket and had some layup attempts that didn't even come close to going in. Both players need to be more aggressive and confident and they can easily break this game open. The Clippers host the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow on a packed 15 game slate and if they wish to win they have to play a full game of basketball.
PREVIEW VS CLEVELAND TOMORROW NOV 7TH 2022
For starters. The 3pt shooting needs to be more consistent. Players that struggle at 3's like Wall need to stick to their strengths and attack the basket or open up opportunities to shoot. They need to capitalize off of opposing teams mishaps as they couldn't do so today against Utah. Winning the turnover battle usually can propel a team to victory in a game as close as this one, but not if you can't score on those turnovers. The fouling needs to stop as they let Utah score so many points at the free throw line in the 4th and with a scoring duo like Mitchell and Garland you just cannot allow too many free throw attempts. The one advantage the Clippers have over Cleveland is size at the guard position and they should really utilize that as it could either open up space for 3 pt shooting or provide good stability in the paint. The Clippers are for sure outmatched by Cleveland in this game but it is not impossible. Not even close with a roster like this.
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