There’s a tax when you transition from one series to the next in the postseason, especially if one series goes long and the higher seed becomes the lower seed. The Clippers had a successful five days from the time they went from trailing the Dallas Mavericks 3-2 last Wednesday night to starting the semifinals in Utah Tuesday night:
Thursday: Fly to Dallas.
Friday: Win Game 6 while facing elimination.
Saturday: Fly to LA.
Sunday: Win Game 7 to eliminate the Mavericks.
Monday: Fly to Utah.
What were the Jazz doing on those five days? Chilling. While the Clippers were falling just short in their comeback attempt in Game 5 Wednesday night at Staples Center, the Jazz were ending the Grizzlies’ season hours earlier at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
