High-scoring Clippers visit defensive-minded Jazz

What will happen when one of the NBA's top offensive teams clashes with the league's best defensive team? That's the question being asked as the Los Angeles Clippers travel to Salt Lake City to visit the Utah Jazz for a Wednesday night showdown.

Both teams have created distinct and familiar identities during the first week of the NBA season.

The Clippers are lighting up the scoreboard. Los Angeles averages 121.5 points per game, which ranked third in the league through Monday, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range, both figures tops in the league through Monday.

The Clippers boast an effective field-goal percentage of 59.8 percent and a true shooting percentage of 63.8 percent. No other NBA team had a true shooting percentage better than 58.4 percent entering play Tuesday.

Such accurate shooting and scoring proficiency has helped the Clippers carve out a 119.1 offensive rating and a 9.6 net rating through four games.

"There's so many new parts on the floor," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. "And I just feel like we're nowhere near what we're gonna be -- like, not even close. And that's a good thing."

Meanwhile, the Jazz are locking down both the paint and the perimeter while making it tough for opponents to generate any sustained offensive rhythm.

Utah has 92.0 defensive rating (tops in the league through Monday) and a 7.5 net rating in part because it is limiting opponents to a single difficult shot on most possessions. The Jazz are yielding just 8.5 second-chance points and 8.8 fast-break points per game. Utah also allows an average of only 36.0 points in the paint, a league low through Monday.

The Jazz's defensive prowess is sparked by the team's refusal to quit, a trait that helped Utah rally late for a 96-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday.

"(We) just don't give up," Rudy Gobert told the team's website after the game. "You never know in basketball. You've got to keep pushing and keep pushing."

Utah's defense catches a break with Kawhi Leonard (rest) getting the night off Wednesday.

That still leaves prolific producers Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell to contend with, but all three players average at least 20 points per game -- led by Leonard's 27.0 points. Harrell and Leonard are shooting better than 50 percent from the field.

Leonard will return to the lineup Thursday for a home game against the San Antonio Spurs.

The strong offense has helped the Clippers weather the early injury-induced absence of Paul George. Now the next goal is to take a step forward on defense. Los Angeles seemingly did that in a 111-96 victory over Charlotte on Monday. The Hornets were the first opponent the Clippers held to fewer than 100 points this season.

"We should win a lot of games when we have a bad offensive night and win a lot of games with our defense," Rivers said. "I don't think we should ever lose a game because of our defense."

The Jazz haven't quite made the splash they hoped to make on offense thus far. Bojan Bogdanovic has formed a nice 1-2 punch with Donovan Mitchell so far. Mitchell is averaging 24.0 points while Bogdanovic is dropping 23.7 points per contest. Both players are shooting better than 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from the perimeter.

They aren't getting much help from teammates, however. Mike Conley has endured a severe shooting slump to start the season while Gobert and Joe Ingles have had a more limited impact offensively than usual. Utah has also struggled with turnovers, ranking last in the league with a 19.6 turnover percentage through Monday.

"We have to play, get out of our heads and attack," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "Again, I think that is something that is easier to do the more you play together."

Utah won the season series 2-1 in 2018-19. The Jazz defeated the Clippers 111-105 in the lone matchup in Salt Lake City on Feb. 27 behind 32 points from Mitchell.

--Field Level Media