A look around the NBA playoffs after Tuesday's games...

UTAH'S COMFORT ZONE

Jazz 96, Clippers 92

This series is firmly where Utah wants it. And not just because the Jazz now have a 3-2 lead with a chance to close it out in the friendly confines of Vivint Smart Arena in Game 6. This series has become ugly, a grind, a series defined by who can make bigger shots late, and while the Clippers have Chris Paul, the Jazz have a plethora of guys ready to step up. Joe Johnson once again did the ISO Joe dance on Tuesday, but Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood both had monster shots late as well. 

The Jazz won shooting 43 percent from the field, and holding all but three Clippers to single-digit scoring. They held a 36-16 bench advantage over the Clippers. They won in points in the paint, second-chance points and fastbreak points. 

This thing is right where Utah needs it to be. 

And yeah, the absence of Blake Griffin looms over everything, but the reality is that the Jazz have had more answers in this series from the first game. Sometimes playoff series aren't about matchups or tactical advantages, but about who can make a few more plays. Johnson and Hayward have done that, and despite unquestionable brilliance from Chris Paul (28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, nine assists), the Clippers can't get stops late in the game when they need them most. 

The Jazz were on their heels briefly after Game 3, but have responded and with Rudy Gobert back, they're starting to surge. 

It's always something with the Clippers, or more accurately, a million things. Everything that can go wrong does, and at some point they may need to realize that there's a reason they always wind up as the bystander in another team's story of an improbable run. 

ROCKETS BLAST THROUGH THUNDER

Rockets 105, Thunder 99

The Thunder know this team needs changes. The roster is still primarily the core of a team built to support Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, only without Durant. Jerami Grant should not be the team's fifth option. Alex Abrines should not be counted on for big-time buckets. They have no backup point guard. None of their young guys were ready, none of their veterans can create offense on their own. 

So keep that in mind as the cavalcade of criticisms of Westbrook and OKC come flooding in. This season was a handicap the whole way, and their ability to reach the 6th seed is a testament to the players' commitment to defense, the coaching of Billy Donovan, and of course, Westbrook. But this season also gave a clear blueprint of what the Thunder need. They can win games with Westbrook plus defense, but to win more comfortably and match up better in the postseason, they need another player who can create offense on his own, and shooters. The Thunder have been trying to add shooters for years, so it's harder to do than say, but at least OKC has a clearer direction now than it does in the aftermath of Durant's decision last July. 

Still, the concern for the Rockets has to be that even though they won when they didn't play well, they struggled at times vs. a team so outmatched. Houston won in five games, but the Thunder hung in those five games. With how few options they had, and with Westbrook shooting so poorly from the field, Houston knows it'll need better performances. 

That's the real lesson of Thunder-Rockets this year. Both teams walked away with a clearer understanding of what come next, and what they need in the immediate short-term to get where they want to go. The only difference is the Rockets get to keep finding those answers through their play, while OKC attempts to find ways to improve a salary-bloated mid-tier team, and do so while being built around the most high-usage player in NBA history. 

Sometimes finding out the answers to your questions isn't as helpful as you'd hope. 

OLD ADAGES HOLD TRUE

Spurs 116, Grizzlies 103

Role players play better at home. It's an old cliche, but it's there for a reason. The Spurs got the shooting they had been missing in Game 5, and it led to their 3-2 lead. Patty Mills delivered with 20 points, the Spurs shot 50 percent from 3-point range, and that was enough to get by Memphis. 

The Spurs made Game 5 into an offensive game, and that's not the Grizzlies' comfort zone. The Spurs have prided themselves on being a top tier defensive squad this season, but there were always concerns that this team's defense was a bit of smoke and mirrors, plus Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs can topple Memphis in a shootout, they struggled in two slugfests in Memphis. Now with a chance to close it out, they just have to hope their guys make shots. If that happens, they can close this up and get ready for Houston. But if the role players don't play as well on the road, the series will go seven. It's really that simple. 

NOTES:

  • Kawhi Leonard shot over 50 percent from the field, again, but more impressively, had six assists. He burned the defense for sending more help at him, and that's a major adjustment in this series. 
  • Andre Roberson faced the Hack-An-Dre again, and this time he didn't have a good enough shooting line to excuse it. Roberson is going to be a free agent this summer, and will help a team with his defense, but his offense is so painful it almost negates what is a first-team All-Defense worthy set of defensive capabilities. 
  • The Jazz are third among playoff teams in after-time-out points per possession, shooting 57.8 in effective field goal percentage, via Synergy Sports. 
  • The Thunder were a plus-15 with Russell Westbrook on the floor in this series, and a minus-58 when he was on the bench.