Warriors-Jazz would be the better series

A Warriors-Clippers playoff series sounds intriguing until it actually happens. Then the reality of mismatch sets in — and we wouldn’t even have Blake Griffin (injured) to get humbled, tormented and rendered desultory by Draymond Green. Let’s see Utah this time around.

The Jazz will be at home for Friday night’s Game 6, hoping to finish off the Clippers and send them into an offseason of turmoil. Look for a dominant performance from center Rudy Gobert, back from his knee injury, so we can speculate how the Warriors’ three-headed center will fare against one of the league’s all-around finest. Let’s get the best of Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood, Joe Ingles and the reborn Joe Johnson, whose magnificence in isolation seems a bit contrary — the Jazz are all about ball movement — but has crushed L.A. at the most crucial times.

For all the talk about a massive free-agent exodus involving Griffin, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, it probably won’t come down that way. The Clippers can offer Paul far more salary than any other team, and he seems spiritually connected to the Southern California scene. Redick will surely accept another offer. Griffin has dreams of joining the comedy-club circuit in L.A., but sources say he’s grown tired of playing with Paul, a joyless and cold-blooded competitor who routinely points out his teammates’ mistakes. Let the speculation begin about Boston, Miami or Oklahoma City (his home town) for Griffin’s potential destinations.

The Clippers were counting on ex-Warrior Marreese Speights at the power forward position, in Griffin’s absence, but he has not delivered. Speights scored just one point in Game 5 and was given only 13 minutes of playing time.

As much as we loved watching Russell Westbrook all season, and backed his case for MVP, he came up short in two ways against Houston: He left the floor without congratulating any of the Rockets’ players after the decisive Game 5, and his shot selection was dreadful. The man is a 30 percent career shooter from threepoint range. He was 13-for-49 (26.5) percent in the series. True, he had no help whatsoever from his teammates, but his Stephen Curry imitation was woefully inadequate in the late stages of close games.