Clippers Aren’t Upset by Odds

A Las Vegas oddsmaker lists the Clippers as a 50-1 longshot to defeat the top-seeded Utah Jazz in their NBA first-round playoff series, which opens tonight at the Delta Center.

“I’m surprised it’s not more than that,” Clipper forward Rodney Rogers said.

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch says the Jazz, which has reached the Western Conference finals three of the last five seasons, deserve to be favored.

“Anybody that’s making odds would be foolish not to think that Utah is going to win this series, but we’re just foolish enough to think that we wouldn’t be in it if we didn’t have a chance,” Fitch said.

Can an eighth-seeded team beat a top-seeded team in a best-of-five series?

It has happened only once in the NBA’s 50-year history, when the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round in 1994.

“They won the first two at home and they had their brooms out, saying they were going to sweep us,” said Rogers, who spent his first two seasons in Denver. “Nobody gave us a chance in hell of winning a game. We didn’t have anything to lose. That’s the way we’ve got to treat this.”

Nobody is giving the Clippers, who have lost 14 consecutive games here, a chance to upset the Jazz, which has won 75 of 82 home games over the last two seasons. The Jazz (64-18) finished with the NBA’s second-best record behind the Chicago Bulls, and the Clippers (36-46) have the worst record of any team in the playoffs.

“I’m going to talk to the guys and let them know that anything is possible,” Rogers said. “We’ve got to think back to the game that we beat them [115-101 on Dec. 30 at the Sports Arena].

“With the experience I have, I’m going to try to show the guys that when we get down we can’t quit. If we can win one game up here, it changes the whole series around because the more games you play the tougher it gets.”

Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan is wary of the Clippers, who lost three of four games to the Jazz this season. The Jazz finished with 60 wins in 1994-95, but were eliminated in the first round by the Houston Rockets.

“We’re going to have to come out motivated against them or we’re going to get blown away,” Sloan said.

Rogers, acquired by the Clippers along with center Brian Williams and the rights to guard Brent Barry in a 1995 draft-day trade for Antonio McDyess and two other players, played a pivotal role as the Clippers earned their first playoff berth since 1993, registering career highs in points (13.2), rebounds (5.1), assists (2.7) and minutes (30.1).

Rogers was at his best in the stretch drive, averaging 16.5 points in the final 11 games, including a career-high 34 points in a four-point loss at Houston on April 15.

“A lot of guys pulled the rope harder than some down the stretch, but Rodney was exceptional the last month,” Fitch said. “Now it’s a new season, and at this level in the playoffs you’ve got to be at the top of your game. I hope we’ve got more than just Rodney.”

Rogers, 6 feet 7 and 225 pounds, is playing better because he’s in better shape.

“The thing that’s helped him is that he’s really trimmed down,” Fitch said. “There’s less of him but more of him. He’s in good shape and he’s playing a lot of minutes.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

PLAYOFF COMPARISON

*--*

1996-97 Season Series Score Nov. 2 Utah 95, CLIPPERS 90 Nov. 29 UTAH 111, Clippers 94 Dec. 30 CLIPPERS 115, Utah 101 March 22 UTAH 107, Clippers 94

*--*

PLAYOFF HISTORY

*--*

Year Round Result 1992 First round Utah def. Clippers, 3-2

*--*

TEAM COMPARISON

*--*

Category Clippers Jazz OVERALL RECORD 36-46 64-18 HOME RECORD 21-20 38-3 ROAD RECORD 15-26 26-15 OVERTIME RECORD 3-5 4-2 FIRST HALF 16-25 28-13 SECOND HALF 20-21 36-5 AVG. PTS. 97.2 103.1 OPP. AVG. PTS. 99.5 94.3 MARGIN -2.3 8.8 FG PCT .446 .504 OPP. FG PCT. .462 .438 3-PT. FG PCT .354 .370 OPP. 3-PT. FG PCT. .357 .352 3-PT. FG/GAME 5.8 4.1 OPP. 3-PT. FG/GAME 5.9 6.4 FT PCT .731 .769 REB. AVG. 40.7 40.2 OPP. REB. AVG. 42.7 37.3 OFF. REB. AVG. 13.3 10.8 OPP. OFF. REB. AVG. 12.8 11.7 AST. AVG. 20.3 26.8 OPP. AST. AVG. 20.2 19.4 TO AVG. 16.0 15.4 OPP. TO AVG. 16.7 16.2 STL. AVG. 8.9 9.1 OPP. STL. AVG. 9.0 7.8 BLK. AVG. 5.4 5.1 OPP. BLK. AVG. 5.1 4.5

*--*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

CLIPPERS vs. UTAH JAZZ

* Game 1: Tonight at Utah, 7:30

* Game 2: Saturday at Utah, 5:30

* Game 3: Monday, Sports Arena, 7:30

* Game 4: Wednesday, Sports Arena, TBA*

* Game 5: May 4 at Utah, TBA*

* if necessary