Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz first-round series detailed preview

Where the Rockets can find an advantage

The Rockets have to find a way to replicate the success that they had in the playoffs against the Jazz last season if they want to win this one just as easily. Utah is a tough team that can give anyone a ton of trouble with their stout defense and sneaky-good offense.

Abusing the switches and getting James Harden/Chris Paul guarded by Rudy Gobert as much as possible will be key to this series. That will give Houston easy buckets as well as get Utah’s main defender in foul trouble. They should also look to do the same on the other big man, Derrick Favors.

James Harden’s scoring is pretty important (duh). In the two wins against Utah this year, he averaged 45 points per game. In the two losses, though, he averaged just 22 (mostly thanks to a 15-point dud in early December before the historic streak).

Another matchup the Rockets need to be able to abuse is against bench player Kyle Korver. While Korver is a fantastic and historically great 3-point shooter, his defense is not quite there at 38 years of age. If any of our guards get matched up against him, they need to take him to the bucket. That’s also assuming he plays, as he is questionable for Game 1.

Defensively, the Rockets have to guard the perimeter and make sure to lock down Ingles/Crowder/Korver. Mitchell is gonna get his buckets one way or another, but limiting the other guys is huge.

Prediction

I think this series goes one game longer than last year’s, with the Rockets winning it in 6 tough, well-fought games. The Jazz are no joke, but the Rockets are the second-best team in the West and need to prove it in this series.

It’s playoffs time, folks. Let’s get some wins!