Rockets vs. Jazz preview: Houston aims for 8 straight wins

The Rockets head out to Salt Lake City as they aim for their eighth straight win and remain on top of the Western Conference.

The Houston Rockets (18-4) are in first place while riding a seven-game winning streak. After getting a few days to practice and rest in Los Angeles, it’s off to Utah where the Jazz prepare for round two against the Rockets.

No surprise, James Harden was spectacular once again. In a comfortable victory over the Lakers, Harden scored 36 points and recorded 9 assists to end the night. What makes this streak more impressive, the Rockets are 7-0 since Chris Paul returned to the lineup. To go along with that, in each of the last seven games, Houston has led by more than 20 points.

Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz (13-12) are holding up decently. Led by rookie Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz look like they stole the best guy in this year’s draft. While not a big upgrade from Gordon Hayward, Mitchell certainly has proven he can play. And the improvement keeps coming as he plays more in the starting lineup.

Injury Report

Nene is listed as day-to-day and is listed as doubtful with a left corneal abrasion.

Ryan Anderson suffered a back injury against the Lakers and is also listed as day-to-day.  Most likely, Ryno is good to go tonight.

Projected Starting Lineups

Rockets

James Harden/Chris Paul/Trevor Ariza/Ryan Anderson/Clint Capela

It’s been great to see the starting unit play consistently. The offense is flowing nicely, the ball moves, and the defense has been outstanding. CP3 continues to run the floor well with Harden. Because of CP3’s great assists numbers, the Rockets are that much more dangerous. Good luck preparing for that, Quin Snyder.

Jazz

Ricky Rubio/Joe Ingles/Donovan Mitchell/Derrick Favors/Rudy Gobert

Overall, the young Mitchell continues to play well. This is the guy to circle on the scouting report for the Rockets. The Ariza-Mitchell matchup will be a fun one to watch. Gobert vs. Capela, round two, is the other matchup to watch out for.

While the Jazz put up a good battle, expect the Rockets to come out and accept the challenge and compete in a very physical game. This Utah squad is not the team to sleep on. However, the Rockets bring a tough defense as well.

How to watch

Tonight’s game is a nationally televised game and will be on TNT and will also be on AT&T Sportsnet Southwest. As always, the game can be followed on the Rockets mobile app.

How will the Rockets do tonight? Will James Harden score over 30 again? Let us know in the comments section or on Facebook and Twitter.

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