DeAndre Jordan had four blocks Monday/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

– After the game, coach Doc Rivers intimated his 0-3 team is not yet in the shape he’d like it to be in. “Conditioning. That’s about it right now,” he said, when asked what he took from the game. “We’re not playing great. We’re having spurts here and there, but it’s still games. I think (exhibition) games help get you ready for the real thing.”

– Perhaps that is why the Clippers are not doing well on defense. They have allowed 112, 119 and 102 points in their three exhibition losses. And they are awful at guarding the 3-point shot. In their past two losses, Portland shot 68 percent from there, Utah shot 46.7 percent.

– The good news is, power forward Blake Griffin tried everything he could to will his team to victory. He scored 31 points to lead all scorers, making 14 of 22 shots with two steals and five rebounds. That was coming off of a poor outing a night earlier in Portland, where Griffin scored just nine points on 4 of 16 shooting.

– After getting just one block on Sunday night in Portland, it was good to see DeAndre Jordan get back on track there with four against Utah; he had three in the exhibition opener Oct. 7 against Golden State.

– The bench made just 6 of 26 shots (23 percent) from the field, and that won’t cut it most nights. Struggling mightily were Reggie Bullock (0-for-4) and rookie C.J. Wilcox (0-for-3). Spencer Hawes was just 2 of 7, Jordan Farmar 2 of 6.