Ranking the Los Angeles Lakers’ potential second-round matchups: 1. Utah Jazz
I love the way that the Los Angeles Lakers match up with the Utah Jazz and that is not to say that the Jazz are not talented, because they are. Donovan Mitchell is one of the best young two-guards in the league and Rudy Gobert has been the best defensive big man over the last several seasons.
The team also has veteran role players that produce well for the team in Mike Conley, Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson. Conley may not have been the second backcourt star that the Jazz envisioned him to be but he has been much better since his horrendous start this season.
The problem with the Jazz when it comes to playing the Lakers is that the Lakers are also a great defensive team. These are two teams who are both really good on defense and for the sake of argument, we can say that they are on a level playing field (although the Lakers do have more perimeter defenders).
However, there is a massive difference in offensive output. The Lakers have two superstars that are going to combine for 60 points a night in the playoffs that can be overwhelming. The team also has so many shooters around these superstars that can hit shots when needed.
The Jazz have Mitchell. Rudy Gobert is not a huge asset on offense and neither is Mike Conley. Joe Ingles is solid, but he would be the fifth-best scorer on the Los Angeles Lakers.
So in this matchup, you have two really good defensive teams, with one of the two teams having a significant advantage in offensive firepower. I genuinely think this could be a sweep. and against any other team in the second round, the Jazz would have better success.
The proof is in the pudding. The Los Angeles Lakers have beaten the Jazz twice and neither game was particularly close, winning by nine points and 25 points. The Jazz averaged just 91 points against the Lakers. That is not going to win playoff games in 2020.