Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Clippers: Match Preview and Predictions - 28th December 2019
Match details
Fixture: Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Clippers
Date & Time: Saturday, December 28th, 2019 (10:30 PM ET)
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Last game results
Utah Jazz (19-12): 121-115 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers (December 26)
Los Angeles Clippers (23-10): 111-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers (December 25)
Utah Jazz Preview
The Utah Jazz are sixth in the Western Conference and had won six of their last seven games. Despite a combined 59 points from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, they managed to prevail against the Blazers - recording 61 points from their backcourt duo of Joe Ingles and Donovan Mitchell which helped the team shoot 56.8% in the victory.
Key Player: Donovan Mitchell
Now in the third season of his NBA career, Mitchell is the Jazz' offensive leader and averaging 25.1 points in 31 games this term. The 23-year-old also has a 109 offensive rating per 100 possessions. During the win on Thursday against Portland, Mitchell scored 35 points on 12-19 shooting to lead Utah in a memorable victory.
Jazz predicted lineup
Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic
Los Angeles Clippers Preview
The Los Angeles Clippers are playing great basketball this season and have a 23-10 record to back it up. They are 4-1 in their last five games and are 14-2 when playing at home.
On Christmas Day, the Clippers beat their hometown rivals the Los Angeles Lakers 111-106. During that victory, Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points and they collectively held the Lakers to just 40.6% shooting for the game. They also benefited from out-rebounding the Lakers 50-42 and outscoring them 54-42 on points in the paint.
Key Player: Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard was the key free-agent signing the Clippers managed to complete this past offseason. Currently, Kawhi is averaging 25.9 points, 5.1 assists and 8 rebounds per game - while recording a double-double in his last outing against the Lakers, where he scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to accompany five assists.
Clippers predicted lineup
Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Patterson and Ivica Zubac
Jazz vs Clippers Match Prediction
Historically, the Jazz hold a 106-80 H2H record against the Clippers in this Western Conference series - but they are just 7-9 on the road this season and Saturday's hosts hold an impressive 14-2 home record.
Naturally, they must maximise each possession as they are 17th in the league for points scored (107.8 per game) while the Clippers are 5th (115.5). The Clippers meanwhile, have four players who average scoring 19 or more points per game - making them a tough side to double-team defensively.
As previously mentioned, the Clippers have an excellent home record and will entertain the Jazz in what should be a closely-fought encounter. Ultimately though, they have too much offensive firepower for the Jazz to contend with and it's unlikely they will lose this one.
Where to watch Jazz vs Clippers?
You can stream the game live online with NBA League Pass. The game can be watched on TV on AT&T Sportsnet, PRIME and TSN.