After defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 104-91 in a critical Game 7 matchup on Sunday, the Utah Jazz will advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. Their next opponent will be the Golden State Warriors in the following round.

Golden State has had seven days of rest since sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. And with Utah finally winning a tight series with Los Angeles, the second round is officially set.

It’s been theorized that teams who rest longer after coming away with an earlier-ended series, tend to get off to slower starts in their next matchup. But if you’re the best team in basketball, such as the Golden State Warriors, rust shouldn’t be an issue.

Here’s Utah, who experienced a multitude of injuries all season are in shape to be at great strength against Golden State. Although guard Alec Burks could reportedly be shut-down for the remainder of the postseason, due to an ongoing knee injury.

I pointed out key aspects of what will make this an interesting series, and as I speak confidently, it will be.

RUDY GOBERT MUST CONTINUE PROTECTING THE LANE.

Jazz starting center Rudy Gobert suffered a left-knee injury dating back to the opening minute of game one. After missing games two and three, he returned for game four. However, in the third quarter of game six, Gobert suffered a mild ankle sprain. He was able to play in a decisive game seven, and the Jazz were able to prevail.

Rudy’s presence is a deciding factor for Utah, and that story won’t change against Golden State.

Gobert is locking up his case for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s the only player to finish the season with over 200 blocks (214). Golden State will have plenty of issues getting to the rim while he’s on the floor, as he held a Defensive Rating of 99.2. This ranked third in the league, and second amongst every qualified center.

But certainly, Gobert won’t be the only DPOY candidate on the floor in this series. Warriors All-Star Draymond Green (99.1) has been a yearly candidate for the award, but as he’s stated many times before, his ultimate focus is to continue winning.

JAZZ CANNOT FALL INTO OFFENSIVE SLUMPS. 

Overall, this series will come down to scoring, and the Jazz will have to prove that they can remain consistent with their half-court offense. There’s been the superb play from Gordon Hayward, who just earned his first All-Star selection this year.

Hayward had some impressive performances against the Clippers. He even scored 40 points on 13-21 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds in game three, but that line was spoiled by Los Angeles pulling out a 111-106 victory.

And even with Gordon playing at such a high level, the Jazz have made it thus far with a balanced attack. With the rest of Utah’s projected starting lineup of George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Derrick Favors becoming healthy, the Jazz’s options on the offensive end are endless.

However, being 28th in the league in points (100.2) while also dead-last in pace (91.6) doesn’t help their chances, but their style of play (oriented around low-post scoring) gets the job done. For example, this is why seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson was uncontainable against the Clippers.

Johnson (series vs. L.A): 15.7 points on 48% shooting.

Joe Johnson in the 4 wins vs. LAC

18.3 PPG / 5.8 RPG / 4 APG / 53% FG / 54% 3P #TakeNote

— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) April 30, 2017

Even at 35, Johnson failed to show his age against L.A. He’s been productive all year as a reserve for the Jazz, and his fourth quarter scoring has been unbelievable, as he was finding ways to use his size to create opportunities. With the Warriors having more capable defenders to throw at him (i.e. Andre Iguodala), it’ll be interesting to see if ISO-Joe can keep it up.

Because if not, there might be plenty more where this came from:

HEALTH = HOPE FOR GOLDEN STATE. 

If there’s anything a Warrior would admit to you, is that they wish they had more time on the court together, to prepare for this postseason.

The Warriors four All-Stars of Stephen Curry, Green, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant have only played in 53 games together this year. Regardless, there won’t be any excuses — especially if your team has players who can step in their place.

The only red-flag for the Warriors this year has been health, and with Durant (calf) missing two games against the Blazers, Golden State will need their leading scorer active and ready, in order to go deeper into the postseason.

FINAL PREDICTION: Warriors in five.

REASON: The Jazz are too poised to be swept this time around. With so much confidence built up after knocking off Los Angeles, I can’t see them not winning a single game. Not even against the Warriors. Something’s also me that I might even be “low-balling” for only giving them one game. Barring a catastrophe, Utah is going to have some outstanding stretches of basketball, and it’s not hard to know why.

Rather than Portland, Utah has much greater depth, and it’s from every position. Championship and deep postseason experience is sprinkled across their roster, and you take both George Hill and Boris Diaw (for example) having the luxury of winning a title during their separate runs with San Antonio. The Blazers didn’t have any of that, and there was the result.

Overall, I believe the majority of these games will come down to the final five minutes, especially when this series travels to Utah, where they were 29-12 in the regular season. But of course, the Warriors ultimately have a wide advantage in top-level talent, which will guide them to yet another trip to the Western Conference Finals.

Whether Utah wins or loses, they have something to build on, and it begins with the impending Free Agency of Gordon Hayward. Unless he’s seeking top-dollar this summer, wouldn’t make any sense to not return to a situation like Utah. But for now, he remains a Jazz, and this series is happening.

Game 1 will tip-off on Tuesday, May 2nd at 10:30 pm.