Clippers vs Jazz: Three things we learned from Game 1

Home court means nothing in this series

Coming down to the final game of the regular season, home court advantage was up for grabs between these two teams. In the end, Los Angeles secured their advantage, but it didn’t last past the first encounter.

Now the Jazz have control. Even if they were to lose in Game 2, they head back to Utah with the one road victory they needed.

This is usually bad news for a team like the Clippers, but there’s a positive in all of this. The silver lining only comes into play, however, if Los Angeles finds their way into the second round.

Having to prove themselves on the road against a Utah team that can hang with them is crucial.

Should they win, their likely second round opponent will be the Warriors. That won’t be an easy series either, but in order for any future success to come about, they’ll need to earn it the hard way.

This gives them that kind of opportunity.

Also, the teams finished with identical home and away records. This hints that they’ll be able to bring the same kind of game each time in this series.

All the Clippers might need to change, based on Saturday’s loss at least, is the last shot.