LOS ANGELES — The Jazz face the Clippers in the Western Conference's 4/5 playoff matchup, featuring two teams that finished with identical 51-31 records. How will the teams match up against each other? Let's dive into the world of individual matchups as we try to learn something about the series to be. Third in the series: small forward.

Small forward

Jazz: Gordon Hayward, Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson

Clippers: Luc Mbah a Moute, Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson, Alan Anderson

Of all five positions, this is where the Jazz find themselves with a clear advantage: All-Star Gordon Hayward against the Clippers' rotating cast of small forward options, all of which aren't starting caliber, and most of which aren't even bench caliber.

Paul Pierce is now old, your dad on a basketball floor. He can't defend anymore, he can't create separation for his own shot anymore, and he's not such a good catch-and-shoot guy that it makes sense to keep him on the floor. That's why he's only played in 25 games all year long.

Wesley Johnson is just bad. Johnson actually averaged 12 minutes per game this season in 68 contests, but he shot 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. He's made just two shots in the last month. And it's not as if his defensive prowess is keeping him on the floor, either.

And Alan Anderson is both old and bad. He too can't shoot, but he also cannot dribble. I guess he can try at defending, but it's not good. I don't really expect to see any of the three guys in the rotation much, if at all during the playoffs. That's especially true once Austin Rivers returns from injury.

That leaves Luc Mbah a Moute, who has started 76 games at the small forward spot for the Clippers. He actually has been a key to the dominant Clippers starting lineup, for two reasons: stellar wing defense and better-than-expected shooting. That starting lineup has played 871 minutes this season, and outscores opponents by 15.1 points per 100 possessions. It's the key to the Clippers' success.

And it's the defense that Mbah a Moute provides that has bothered Utah the most. Gordon Hayward had one great game against the Clippers this year, and it's no coincidence that it was the matchup in which Mbah a Moute found himself in foul trouble early. Hayward finished with 27 points on 9-18 shooting. Again, no coincidence: that's the only game the Jazz won against the Clippers in the regular season.

In the other two games (Hayward missed October's game due to a broken finger), Hayward scored only 10 points per game and shot just 25 percent from the field. It's entirely due to Mbah a Moute. In those three games, when he's on the court, Hayward shot 32 percent from the floor, and the Jazz were outscored by 8 points per 100 possessions. When someone else was guarding him, he shot 54.5 percent, and the Jazz outscored the Clippers by 4.3 points per 100 possessions.

How? Basically, Mbah a Moute's length gives him real problems. Like here, Hayward catches the ball right under the basket. Against most defenders, Hayward would have no problem with going up and scoring here, or at least drawing a foul. But Mbah a Moute just keeps one hand annoyingly vertical, preventing Hayward from doing anything but taking a difficult fallaway, even with that position.

Gordon Hayward is forced into fadeaway by LRMAM, even after he catches the ball right underneath the basket: pic.twitter.com/1xEgurH41g — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) April 15, 2017

Same thing, but on the perimeter. One long arm, raised annoyingly skyward.

And here's basically the perimeter version of the same thing: pic.twitter.com/jWACcQRRNK — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) April 15, 2017

So, what do the Jazz do? There are a couple of schools of thought here. First, just as they did in Game 3 of the regular season, you could try to get Mbah a Moute in foul trouble early. It might work, just as it did then. Or, Mbah a Moute may just play solid defense without fouling, leading to difficult shots as Hayward tries to force the issue early. That's the kind of stuff that's led to the Clippers coming out of the gates with huge first quarter leads in their wins.

Another alternative is to use Hayward as a decoy, playing 4-on-4 on offense as Hayward stays in a corner or even further out. You'd have to be very confident in Hill, Hood, Favors (or Johnson), and Gobert to generate good looks, though. They probably can do this approach with Johnson spacing the floor and Hill and Hood at their best. Unfortunately, that's rarely consistently been true.

You'd probably like to play Mbah a Moute off the floor by leaving him alone on the offensive end, but he's been just good enough offensively to prevent that. Besides, it's not like Doc Rivers can turn to, say, Wesley Johnson to spark the offense in that case. Johnson is just as bad as Mbah a Moute is offensively, maybe worse.

Hayward will need to be at his very best. If he can cut and finish through contact, work hard on the glass, and set up teammates when the Clippers key on him, he can be Utah's best player. If he's successfully slowed, though, the Jazz's job becomes nearly impossible.

All positional previews:Point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward,, center.

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