The best two words in sports are “Game Seven”. It’s the game for all the marbles, the big one, or as Rudy Gobert would call it, the “crème de la crème”.
Over the last 5 years the Los Angeles Clippers have been on the cusp of elite status in the Western Conference. However, they have found ways to blow big leads in games, lose favorable series advantages such as the 3-1 lead they lost to the Houston Rockets in 2015. They remain one of the best teams to never have made it to the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile the Utah Jazz have slowly rebuilt their roster by developing their internal talent and surrounding them with experienced veterans to make their first splash in the NBA playoffs since 2012. The Jazz are tired of being consistently mediocre since the Stockton and Malone era. The Utah Jazz in the late 90s were arguably one of the best teams to never win a championship because of a guy named Michael Jordan.
The winner of this game won’t be favored to upset the mighty Golden State Warriors in the second round but by now these teams have figured each other out. There are no excuses now. The Clippers may be without Blake Griffin and the Jazz might be playing on the road but that hasn’t stopped either team from getting to Game 7.
Prediction: Like all the games in this series until now, this will be a single digit game that will go down to some clutch shots in the final minute. Will the series clinching shots be made by team stars like Gordon Hayward and Chris Paul or will the unsung heroes like Joe Ingles or Luc Mbah a Moute have their 15 seconds of fame? Will Iso Joe be called upon to make a game winning shot? If he does, will the shot go in like the game winner in Game 1 or will it rim oitblike his potential game tying three in Game 6?
Find out on Sunday at 1:30 PM on ABC when the Clippers host the Jazz for the only Game 7 of the 2017 playoffs. The Wizards and possibly Gordon Hayward’s future Boston Celtics team face off in the second round earlier in the day but the Jazz and the Clippers are both playing for the future construction of their team. The loser could face a bunch of changes to their roster this offseason. No matter what team, fans will appreciate the climactic ending of the first round. Game 7, where amazing happens.