The Jazz are creating a cross-match advantage against the Clippers

In their Game 5 victory earlier this week, the Jazz put one of the Clippers’ biggest weaknesses on display. While the Clippers checked out as an average defensive team this season, they were one of the toughest teams to score against when they were able to set up their defense following a made shot. However, they went from allowing 1.02 points per possession to 1.09 points per possession when they missed a shot — think of the Jazz compared to the Kings in terms of defensive efficiency — which ranked them 16th in the NBA this season, according to Inpredictable.

Knowing this, the Jazz pushed the ball following every defensive rebound to take advantage of the types of cross-matches the Clippers struggle to contain. It’s generated better shots for the Jazz in general throughout the series: 1.06 points per possession following a made Clippers shot as opposed to 1.15 points per possession following a defensive rebound. The former ranks ninth amongst playoff teams and the latter ranks fifth.

What’s unique about the Jazz is they don’t score quickly in those situations. Their average possession following a defensive rebound in the regular season lasted 14.1 seconds and they’ve only been slightly quicker in the playoffs. In both cases, only one other team was slower — the Mavericks in the regular season (14.4 seconds) and the Bucks in the playoffs (14.2 seconds). Rather than playing at the breakneck speed of Russell Westbrook and the Thunder, for example, the Jazz like to get up the floor quickly to create mismatches before methodically picking them apart. That way, they can use their versatility to create the easiest basket possible.

Read More: Can JaVale McGee really be the Warriors’ secret weapon?

One of the first times we saw it in Game 5 was following a miss from Marreese Speights in the opening quarter. Gordon Hayward contested his shot and immediately took off down the other end of the court once Rudy Gobert secured the defensive rebound. Since J.J. Redick was the first defender back, he picked up Hayward while Luc Mbah a Moute (Hayward’s defender) picked up Joe Ingles. The Jazz immediately gave the ball to Hayward in the post against Redick and the possession ended with Gobert getting an open dunk off of Hayward’s assist when he forced the defense to collapse.

Here’s what it looked like:

Redick is a good defender for his position, but he doesn’t have much of a chance against Hayward on the block. The only player on the Clippers who has the strength, length and quickness to stick with Hayward is Mbah a Moute and he spent the possession on the other side of the court to prevent Ingles from getting a spot-up 3.

The Jazz did the same for Joe Johnson when he was on the court as the game progressed. This basket came following a turnover rather than a defensive rebound, but the idea is still the same. The Jazz got possession of the ball, beat the Clippers down the floor and gave it to their wing in the post against a much smaller guard. Instead of attacking the basket like Hayward, though, Johnson wisely took the shot himself and drained a step back over Raymond Felton.

The Jazz’s big men play a big role in the team’s success following a defensive rebound. There were several times in Game 5 when either Gobert or Derrick Favors beat the Clippers center down the court and forced someone smaller to pick them up to take away an easy basket. It’s one of the drawbacks of attacking the offensive glass. If teams aren’t able to secure the rebound consistently — the Clippers posted one of the worst offensive rebounding rates in the regular season for what it’s worth — it can put them at a disadvantage if the other team is focused on getting out in transition.

One possession in particular ended with Favors getting a wide open dunk because both DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Johnson closed out on Joe Johnson on the 3-point line. While Wesley Johnson was at fault for leaving Favors all alone, notice how Jordan was the last Clipper back on defense in the video below. Favors wisely cut to the basket and posted up Wesley Johnson to give him no choice but to defend him, which meant Jordan had to guard Joe Johnson. Ingles also slowed Jordan down by cutting him off at half court.

The Clippers faced the same problem less than a minute later, only this time Jordan and Johnson figured out what they were going to do. While they didn’t give up a wide open dunk, it paved the way for Johnson to isolate Jordan at the top of the perimeter. Jordan is better equipped than most 7-footers to guard wings that far away from the basket — one of the reasons he’s a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate — but it’s still a mismatch in the Jazz’s eyes.

Let’s look at one more example. Gobert beat Jordan up the floor following the turnover — are you starting to see a trend yet? — which created mismatches from top to bottom: Speights on Gobert, Chris Paul on Hayward, Redick on Dante Exum, Jordan on Boris Diaw and Mbah a Moute on George Hill. The Jazz could’ve posted up Hayward like in the first possession, but they instead chose to put Jordan in a pick-and-pop with Hill and Diaw. The Jazz spaced the floor well, Jordan slid over to cut off a driving lane and Diaw popped for the open 3-pointer.

This is one of many ways of showing how versatile the Jazz are. Even though they’ve spent much of their series against the Clippers playing smaller lineups, their version of small is different than other team’s. As SB Nation‘s Mike Prada mentioned on Twitter, they have a number of wings and bigs who have the size to play multiple positions and the skill to create plays for themselves and others. It’s why they can slow the pace down following missed shots and turnovers to exploit whichever matchup works in their favor, whether it’s an isolation, pick-and-roll or post-up.

Next: The NBA Playoffs are missing Tim Duncan

It’s hard to tell who is at fault on the Clippers side without knowing the ins and outs of their scheme. They might want Jordan to attack the offensive glass at every opportunity and they might like their chances on cross-matches against the Jazz. It’s just when you look at the statistics and the sorts of shots the Jazz are generating off of misses, it doesn’t seem likely.