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Jazz vs Clippers Game 3 Odds, Lineups, Picks & Injury Report

Sam Cox

by Sam Cox in NBA Basketball

Updated Jun 12, 2021 · 11:27 AM PDT

Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz hit the road up 2-0 against the Clippers (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
  • Leading the series 2-0, the Utah Jazz head to Staples Center for Game 3 against the Clippers on Saturday night
  • The Clips are favored by four points despite their struggles in the opening two games
  • Read below for the latest odds, betting preview, lineups and prediction

Once again, the Los Angeles Clippers are in a must-win situation. Trailing 2-0 in their series with the Utah Jazz, the Clippers return home on Saturday, June 12th for Game 3 of this second round series. Los Angeles is four-point favorites at the time of writing,

The top-seeded Jazz have lived up to expectations in these playoffs even with Mike Conley missing time. Donovan Mitchell has once again lit up the playoff stage with 82 points on just 59 field goal attempts in this series.

The Clips have a 19-17 ATS record as home favorites this season, while the Jazz are 1-3 ATS as road underdogs.

Jazz vs Clippers Game 3 Odds

Team Spread at FanDuel Moneyline Total Points
Utah Jazz +4 (-115) +154 Over 222.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Clippers -4 (-105) -184 Under 222.5 (-110)

Odds as of June 11th

Injury Report

Still struggling with a back issue, Serge Ibaka was downgraded to out before Game 2. As of Friday afternoon, it was announced Ibaka is now out for the year after undergoing surgery. The former Raptor hadn’t played since a five-minute outing in Game 2 of the first round. His return would’ve been a real boost for Ty Lue, who has experimented already in this series with his frontcourt rotations.

Lue inserted Ivica Zubac into the starting five for Game 2. DeMarcus Cousins has contributed. Zubac played only 13 minutes in the second game, however, and it’s unclear if Lue will revert to a smallball five of Marcus Morris or Nicolas Batum.

Utah’s injury report is relatively quiet, though the one player featuring is a key one. Mike Conley hasn’t played in this series so far due to a right hamstring strain, and he was ruled out for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon. Utah has won two games without the All-Star point guard, but his return would be very beneficial.

Jazz vs Clippers Projected Lineups

Jazz
VS
Clippers
Donovan Mitchell PG Reggie Jackson
Royce O’Neale SG Paul George
Joe Ingles SF Kawhi Leonard
Bojan Bogdanovic PF Marcus Morris
Rudy Gobert C Ivica Zubac

Tough Decisions

Playing Zubac did not work. Drop coverage was too easy for the Jazz, and particularly Mitchell, to flourish against. The problem Lue has, though, is going small is every bit as problematic with Rudy Gobert lurking in the paint. Zubac or Cousins have been exploitable for Utah’s perimeter players, but Gobert is a dangerous lob threat and rebounder when Morris or Batum slot in at the five.

There is a balancing act for Lue. Gobert grabbed 20 boards and scored 13 points on five shots in Game 2. His on/off numbers are always extraordinary, posting a phenomenal defensive rating for the series and finishing as a +14 as the Jazz won Game 2 by six points.

This series was always going to be an interesting matchup. These are two great shooting teams, and the Clippers supposedly have the upper-echelon talent, but Gobert’s presence is problematic, particularly without Ibaka to provide size and shooting.

Eyes on PG

While still criticized, Paul George was solid enough in the first round. He hit some big shots to help the Clippers overturn 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. It has been more like Bubble PG against the Jazz, however. He was a -12 in Game 2, and he’s made just 35.7% of his threes.

George isn’t going to take over like Kawhi Leonard has done at points in this postseason. At both ends, though, he has a huge role to play. Keeping Donovan Mitchell quiet is obviously key, and George needs to be impactful on that end. His shots need to start falling, and perhaps playing in front of a home crowd will be beneficial after a couple of difficult games in Utah.

Along with the former Thunder wing, Lue will also be desperate to see an improvement from Morris. Whether at the four or the five, the Clips need Morris to start making some shots. He’s just 1-for-14 from three in the series.

Clips Fight Back

Utah has been lights out from deep all series. While this a season-long trend, and they have great shooters, there’s a good chance they drop off from their current three-point percentage of over 41%. The Clippers are shooting solidly at 37.5% from downtown, but returning home, it’s reasonable to expect an improvement in their perimeter efforts, especially from George and Morris.

ShotQuality.com had the teams basically level on the quality of their shots in Game 1. The Clippers were comfortably ahead in Game 2. So far, Mitchell has been leading the shot-making stakes, making difficult shots look easy.

It’s time for the Clippers’ stars to fight back. Kawhi was majestic against Dallas, and he’s at 55.7% true shooting in this series. This is a game he can take over, and up his field goal attempts. The two-time Finals MVP has taken just 36 shots in the series, which is 23 fewer than Mitchell.

With Leonard being aggressive and some better shooting around him, the Clippers can win this one. They’re good value against the spread here.

  • Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -4 (-105)
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