After knocking out the Mavericks on Sunday, the LA Clippers punched their ticket to round two. They had no answers for Luka Doncic, but no other player stepped up for Dallas, and so that is that. The road team finished 6-1 for the series, the best ever in the league.

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Now, it’s L.A. versus the Utah Jazz. Let’s break some of it down.

Clippers vs. Jazz Series Odds

The Clippers are a +135 underdog to come out of this series as the first to four wins. Bettors are banking on the fact that they were far from perfect against Dallas to be something that holds them back now. Having never won eight games in a single playoff, history will be made when they someday do.

Utah is a -160 favorite to come out on top in the series. Having beaten Memphis four in a row following a game one loss, they’re a dangerous bunch. Mike Conley’s hamstring injury should worry the team, but not too much. He should be at full strength during the series, or at least enough to make a big impact.

Neither of these teams has been farther than round two in either a long time or ever.

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Key Matchups

There will be a number of critical positional battles in the series. Most notably might be the matchup of shooting guards. It will feature Donovan Mitchell on one side, with Paul George on the other. Both guys are All-Stars, capable of taking any game over. PG is such a dynamic defender and will try to make life hard.

The center battle will be monstrous for L.A. It is unclear if they will stay small, but a good chance is in play for Ivica Zubac to become a starter again. He will have to check Rudy Gobert, and there might even be some DeMarcus Cousins minutes. Most likely, though, Batum/Morris will get minutes at backup center against Derrick Favors.

The bench battle will be intriguing. Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson are tremendous in their roles, while Luke Kennard and Terence Mann saw their stocks rise during the Mavs series. They will need to provide a scoring touch, along with Batum and Rondo, possibly.

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Clippers vs. Jazz Series Prediction

The hardest part is now. And that is picking the victor. In this best of seven series, sadly, one of the teams has to go home early. It’s just how it is. But, one of them will end up with either their best season in a long time or in franchise history.

The winner will be the Utah Jazz. It is going to be hard-fought. It is going to take them seven games and a lot of headaches. But, they will emerge as the victors. Kawhi Leonard will be the best player on the court in the entire series. But, he will not be able to lift his team to four wins.

This is just a prediction and could be wrong. But Utah’s offense is a lot more dynamic than Dallas, and so is their defense. They should be taken seriously. They will be off to the conference finals. Sorry, Clips.

This NBA playoffs series will start on Tuesday night. Read our Clippers vs. Jazz game 1 betting report.