The incredible crunch time feats of Joe Johnson struck again, delivering a victory for the Utah Jazz over the Los Angeles Clippers, who kicked off the 2017 NBA playoffs by choking at home, certainly a meme worthy feat.
It’s not over for the Clippers, especially with Rudy Gobert questionable for the rest of the series. The Jazz did manage to win without him in game 1, but going the rest of the series without the potential defensive player of the year might be a bit too much in the long run. It could be the one thing the Clippers can hang on to, and avoid another first round playoff exit.
There’s more riding on this series for the Clippers than just the rest of the season. Both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin can bolt in the summer, and probably will. Doc Rivers has failed to built this franchise into a contender and make it past the conference semifinals. Losing this series might finally show Steve Ballmer this team needs a completely new direction.
For the Jazz, this year was always about more than making the playoffs. The team built there was just too good for humble expectations. Gobert going down with a knee injury could get in the way of what they’re building, but this team might be good enough to overcome even that.