The Clippers are deep
You can't win a title without a strong roster and the L.A. Clippers certainly have that this season. The win over Utah saw the franchise's bench unit come up big once again.
Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford led the rotation in scoring as they finished with 19 - a game-high - and 12 respectively. It wasn't just scoring, Marreese Speights drew an impressive four offensive fouls to break up Utah's attack on numerous occasions.
Moving on to 2-0, the Clippers are deeper than last season, and the Golden State Warriors previously showed how important it is to have a strong supporting cast.
Blake Griffin is hungry
Blake Griffin missed a lot of basketball last season and he is making up for it in the early stages of the new campaign.
After playing just 35 games in the regular season, his playoff campaign was cut short through injury. Tonight Griffin was a man on a mission; finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and a shooting percentage of 50%.
As a five-time All-Star, we know Blake has the talent, but there is still another level that he can reach. If the 27-year-old can advance, then the Clippers really will be in for a strong run at Western Conference superiority.
The Jazz misses Hayward
It was a far from perfect night at the Staples Center as the Jazz fell by 13 points. Nothing was really going for the Salt Lake City franchise, Rodney Hood shot just 2-10, Derrick Favors was a miserly 1-8 and only two players reached double-digits.
If it wasn't already obvious from their previous two outings, they miss Gordon Hayward. The 26-year-old is yet to be named an All-Star in his career, but he is the final piece in the puzzle this current Jazz team needs to make a playoff push.
The small forward is making good time on his recovery and the sooner he is back the better for the Western Conference team.
