Rockets vs. Jazz Game 2 preview: Protecting home court

The Rockets will look to continue their strong playoff run with a second win against the Jazz.

The Houston Rockets won the first game of the series against the Utah Jazz on Sunday afternoon to go up 1-0. They will try to keep their dominance over the Jazz this season going tonight at 7:00 p.m.

The Jazz won’t back down without a fight, though. The Rockets know that they will come out stronger for Game 2 than they did in the first game blowout. Last time out, the Jazz were playing on just one day of rest after their previous series against the Thunder went 6 games.

Tonight, they have multiple days of rest and will be ready for the strong offensive and defensive prowess of the Rockets.

Let’s look at the injury report:

Injuries

Ricky Rubio for the Jazz is the only notable injury for this series so far. He will likely be out for the first four games of this second round matchup.

Luc Mbah a Moute should continue to see his minutes increase as he shakes off the rust and gets back into action for the Rockets.

Projected Starting 5

Rockets

Chris Paul/James Harden/Trevor Ariza/P.J. Tucker/Clint Capela

Jazz

Donovan Mitchell/Royce O’Neale/Joe Ingles/Derrick Favors/Rudy Gobert

How the Rockets can win

Houston can expect a bigger fight out of Mitchell and Gobert in Game 2. The two stars were held in check by Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela, respectively. Surely, they will shoot better and be more aggressive with a bit more rest.

James Harden will look to back up his incredible 40+ point performance with another one tonight. However, he will need a little more help from Chris Paul in the second half for the Rockets to be at their best.

Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon need to show a little bit more. During the playoffs, they have both been a bit underwhelming. Having them break out at the same time would do wonders for the bench of Houston.

Next: The Rockets know they can play better