The Utah Jazz lost Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a disappointing fashion, as they blew a 25 point lead to the Los Angeles Clippers. Superstar Paul George had an elite game, scoring 28 points. However, the player that stepped up to help him was not a name many non-Clippers fans knew before the game, and that was Terance Mann.
Terance Mann willed the Los Angeles Clippers back into the game, scoring an astounding 39 points in order to give them an opportunity to close it out. The Utah Jazz defense had no answer for him. When asked about the Jazz’s defensive game plan that game, Rudy Gobert suggested that the Utah Jazz wanted to let Mann shoot rather than letting the other scorers on the team getting layups in the paint.
"The problem is if I don't come and help, we give up layups. . . The gameplan was for us to let Terance Mann shoot rather than letting Reggie Jackson or PG get layups."
– Rudy Gobert on his defense
(h/t @tribjazz ) pic.twitter.com/pqeygAkz8M
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 19, 2021
There was a lot of fun poked at Rudy Gobert’s defense after the game, but it seems as though part of the game plan was letting Terance Mann score. Usually, it makes sense to have a non-heralded player take shots rather than an established superstar like Paul George, but Mann punished the Utah Jazz for taking that approach. The plan didn’t work, and hopefully, the Utah Jazz will manage to adjust before the next time they’re in the playoffs.
