LOS ANGELES — The Jazz got together for shootaround ahead of their Game 1 NBA Playoffs matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Head coach Quin Snyder, small forward Gordon Hayward, and power forward Boris Diaw met with the media.

Jazz mindset

One interesting subplot of this series: there was a lot of celebration that the Jazz made it to the playoffs for the first time in five years. That being said, they're starting out on the road. Are they happy with just being in the playoffs, or are they confident they can win this series?

"I think we're very confident coming in. We've played well, we wanted to be playing our best basketball coming into the playoffs," Gordon Hayward said. "We feel like we can beat any team. We have to stick to our game plan, and execute our game plan. Our coaching staff does such a tremendous job at coming up with these game plans, but we definitely feel confident."

Boris Diaw agreed. "We feel pretty confident in ourselves. We have the same record as the Clippers, so we feel like it's a team we can compete with."

Hayward against Mbah a Moute

The key matchup for the Jazz on the offensive side of things is Hayward of the Jazz against the long Luc Mbah a Moute of the Clippers. I asked Hayward about that matchup.

"I think first, he's a smart defender. His positioning is really good, he uses his hands well," Hayward said. "He's a bigger defender too, so you can't really body him too much. He's disruptive."

So how does Hayward plan on attacking Mbah a Moute?

"I think ways to attack him, is try to get him on the move, come off some stuff away from the basketball, attack them in transition a little bit. I think they're a good defensive team when they're able to set up."

Snyder said some similar things, but hammered the point home: they need Hayward to force his presence into the game.

We've got to help Gordon show his versatility. We've got to let him be... I won't say unpredictable, because everybody's watched him play, they scout, they know what people are doing," Snyder said. "But more than anything with Gordon, we just want him to be aggressive."

Hayward has struggled against the Clippers, averaging just over 15 points per game, well under his usual average of 22 points per contest. In the Jazz's lone series win, though, he scored 28, and the Jazz will need that sort of scoring from him to win in Game 1.

Boris starting?

There are two questions about the Jazz's starting lineup: will they start Rodney Hood at the shooting guard as they did early in the season, and most of the year when Hood was healthy, or will Joe Ingles start as he has recently?

Likewise, will Diaw start at the four, or will the Jazz go with the traditional look with Derrick Favors? Or will they start their most effective look, with Joe Johnson?

We didn't get to speak with anyone in the guard rotation today, and Snyder was evasive in his answer. But Diaw gave one hint, when asked if he was starting Saturday night:

"I don't know for sure, but I think so," Diaw said.

We'll know more about an hour before game-time, when starters are released.

Private residence

Shootaround took place at a private residence about 15 minutes away from the team's hotel in Beverly Hills. That happened at about 9 a.m. Pacific time, then the team bussed back to the hotel to meet with the media (and to get their pregame naps in) by about 11 a.m. Pacific time.

It's highly unusual for an NBA team's shootaround to happen at someone's house, and I was told that the team didn't get the spot through team connections, but with help from the Clippers. But on such short notice, the house with the basketball court (and it's proximity to the hotel) was the best option for the Jazz.

Slow starts

The Jazz got out to slow starts in the last three games against the Clippers, and it's something that the team is trying to avoid in Game 1.

What do the Jazz focused on to prevent it from happening again? "At first, coming out with a lot of energy defensively," Hayward said. "Not having any breakdowns, not giving them easy stuff in transition or lobs at the rim. That allows us to attack when their defense isn't set."

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