Clippers’ second unit needs to be first-rate if team is to stay alive against Jazz

In playoff basketball, one big toe can make a huge difference.

The subtraction of Blake Griffin — sidelined by an injured plantar plate in his right foot — has triggered a multiplier effect in the Clippers’ first-round playoff matchup against the Utah Jazz.

“We need two or three other guys to make up the Blake difference,” Coach Doc Rivers said

Which puts an onus on the Clippers’ bench.

The second unit is merely one reason the Clippers have fallen behind 3-2 in this best-of-seven series. On Tuesday night, in particular, there were too few rebounds, too few defensive stops.

But the key reserves — minus an injured Austin Rivers for much of the past two weeks — have fallen more than a dozen points short of their combined scoring average from the regular season.

Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton and Paul Pierce have struggled to be consistent. Marreese Speights filled Griffin’s starting spot in Game 5 and finished with just one point and two rebounds.

“We’ve had great bench production this season,” said Rivers, who looked off-kilter returning Tuesday from a strained hamstring. “I told Jamal, bottom line, we’ve got to step up or else we’re not going to win.”

Depth has been a concern for this franchise.

Last summer, when the Clippers fell short in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, the front office turned its sights to re-signing Crawford, Rivers and Wesley Johnson, along with starting forward Luc Mbah a Moute.

The effort paid off, with Crawford, Rivers, Speights and Felton combining to average 39.7 points a game in the regular season. But the postseason has them facing an opponent every bit as strong — if not stronger — down the roster.

With the Jazz battling injuries for much of the winter, rotating fresh bodies through the starting lineup, Coach Quin Snyder saw his depth improve each week.

Utah knows it can rely on the likes of Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that are coming off the bench that have been starters,” Snyder said. “For me, I’m not really differentiating who’s coming off the bench and who’s starting the game.”

Johnson, Hood and Favors filled the gap when center Rudy Gobert went down with an early knee injury, missing nearly all of the first three games against the Clippers. They have combined to average 40 points in the postseason.

Johnson, in particular, has provided a veteran influence on a young team — filling the sort of role the Clippers envisioned for Pierce. Even better, Johnson has a propensity for making plays in the clutch.

His buzzer-beater in the lane decided Game 1. Tuesday night, a three-pointer and a step-back jump shot in the final three minutes helped secure another Jazz victory.

“I think his baskets, because of the timeliness of them, really lift the group,” Snyder said. “And he’s so willing and wanting to take those big shots.”

Johnson put it this way: “I just try to be patient, get to a sweet spot.”

The Clippers will need that kind of boost from the bench to climb back from the brink of elimination. So far, they have relied too heavily on Chris Paul’s team-high 27 points and 10.4 assists a game in the postseason.

“I don’t know if he can do much more,” Doc Rivers said. “He’s only done everything.”

As a three-time winner of the NBA’s sixth-man-of-the-year award, Crawford could turn the momentum in Game 6 if he can find the scoring touch that produced 25 points in Game 4.

As he said earlier in the series: “We have to lean on each other. We have to really, really do that and trust and believe we have the fortitude.”

Austin Rivers could be another key, having scored in double figures against Utah four times during the regular season. Snyder praised his combination of size and speed.

“He’s hurt us this year with his ability to get in the paint,” the Utah coach said. “It’s hard to stay in front of him.”

Missing the final two weeks of the regular season and the first four games of the playoffs meant that Rivers spent most of Tuesday night trying to get back into the flow.

Jumpers sailed off the mark and shorter shots dribbled off the rim. His only two points came on free throws after he forced his way to the basket.

The fifth-year guard insists he and the other Clippers reserves know the challenge before them.

“Chris can’t do everything by himself,” Rivers said of Paul. “I think the next game will be a different bench result.”

david.wharton@latimes.com

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