The Jazz had a great road trip last week, winning four out of five games (4-1 ATS). It was a nice stretch, except that it might’ve exhausted them a lot, as they dropped their next two games at home. In this recent 85-77 defeat against the Bulls, they couldn’t get it going until the last couple of minutes. Thire run proved to be too late and we’re eventually put away by the clutch shots and plays of Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.
As they look ahead into visiting the high-scoring Rockets, everyone should be a dozen times better on offense. The Jazz are 31st in scoring per game (97.5 average), and their top two scorers, Gordon Hayward (22.3 ppg) and George Hill (20.4 ppg) are both nursing injuries in their shooting hand – Hayward is playing and is expected to play on Saturday, while Hill is likely out for the seventh straight game.
Rudy Gobert (10 ppg, 10.4 rpg, and 2.2 bpg), the team’s double-double machine and top defensive guy, will be in for a challenge as he will face a pair of quick, energetic bruisers down low, namely Clint Capela and Montrezl Harrell.
Defensively, everyone is also coming in for an interesting defensive matchup. With a 7.6 average, the Jazz are allowing the fourth fewest three pointers per game in the league. The Rockets, meanwhile, are the league’s most productive shooters from beyond the arc, hitting 13.6 treys per contest.
The Rockets bounced back from that ugly 105-103 loss to the Thunder the other night, where they gave up an 11-0 run in the crucial part of the fourth quarter. If not for Eric Gordon making a meaningless three at the end, they would’ve been scoreless for the final six minutes.
In the win against Damian Lillard and the Blazers, they contained the high-scoring guard to a 41.1-percent shooting night, en route to a 126-109 victory. James Harden had another masterful performance, delivering his third triple-double of the season (26 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists). It also marked his eighth 10-plus assist game in his last nine games.
With Harden breaking down the defense and having the ability to find the open man, five other Rocket scored in double digits. Among them are the team’s defensive guys, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela. Ariza has been the classic “three and D” player this season, ranking eighth in threes per game (2.7) and third in steals per game (2.4), while Capela is averaging 12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in his last seven games.
If the Jazz have an interesting defensive matchup with regards to defending the three, the Rockets have one themselves as well. The Jazz are currently 31st in rebounding, while this Rockets team give up the second fewest rebounds per game.
The Rockets are 6-2 SU (5-3 ATS) in their last eight games at home.
