After a disastrous start in round one of the NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers were able to respond by beating the Dallas Mavericks in four out of the last five games to win the series in seven games. A taller task waits Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and company as they will now face the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Jazz are the No. 1 seed in the West, led by all-star Donovan Mitchell. Quin Snyder's squad has so many pieces that can fill it up on offense and they play great team defense as well. The Clippers have their fair share of snipers as well, and this series is shaping up to be a heavyweight matchup.

Here are two reasons why the Clippers will beat the Jazz in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Kawhi Leonard is playing out of his mind

Not only was Kawhi Leonard tasked with guarding Luka Doncic for much of the first round matchup for the Clippers, he was also relied upon heavily on the offensive end.

In the seven game series, Leonard posted point totals of: 26, 41, 36, 29, 20, 45, 28. And he did it all while staying very efficient from the field as well. His offense was tremendous and his second half defense on Doncic was every bit as impressive.

Donovan Mitchell is emerging as one of the best young stars in the NBA. Rudy Gobert might be the best defensive player in the association. Still, Leonard is the best player on the floor in this series and that can carry a team quite a long way in the NBA postseason.

It will be fascinating to see how often Leonard draws the assignment of guarding Mitchell in this series. He showed in round one there is plenty of gas in the tank for him to guard the best player on the opposing team and still fill it up offensively for the Clippers.

Clippers have players that have been here before

Experience matters in the NBA playoffs. Whether it's a little or a lot, it holds some weight.

The Utah Jazz have won a total of one second round game since 2008. Not series wins, total games. One win in the second round of the playoffs since 2009.

Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard has won multiple NBA championships, as has Rajon Rondo and Paul George has advanced far into the playoffs in the past with the Indiana Pacers. They all now are apart of this Clippers team trying to fulfill their title aspirations.

As the playoffs carry along, and teams start getting booted one by one, the intensity picks up more and more.

This isn't to suggest the Jazz are screwed, there's a reason they are the No. 1 seed in the West. The Clippers just have far more players who have been on this stage at this point in the playoffs and know what it entails.

The experience the Clippers have with Leonard, Rondo and George should provide an advantage for LA in this series against the Jazz.

Utah took out Memphis in quick order and now they look to rain on LA's parade. It took seven grueling games for the Clippers to shake free of the Mavericks, but here they are in round two. Buckle up for this series as it will likely be a long one.