Houston Rockets: What to watch for vs. Utah Jazz – Houston Chronicle
The Rockets do not often complete a back-to-back at home, but that might not make things easier when they go from Wednesday’s game in New Orleans to Thursday’s against the Utah Jazz in Toyota Center.
The Rockets return with a seven-game home losing streak, a skid that immediately followed and wasted their five-game home winning streak.
There could be a few good signs for the Rockets’ pursuit of a home win. They have split their two meetings with the Jazz, winning the game at Toyota Center. And though they are just 1-4 in the second half of back-to-backs, they won the only other one that ended at home when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in November.
The Jazz have fallen off since their fast start, but in many ways, have not played badly.
The Jazz have a five-game losing streak, but by a total of just 15 points. The most painful — or perhaps encouraging — of those losses could be Tuesday’s against the Kings, when the Jazz trailed by two with .4 seconds left and had no timeouts and still got a Lauri Markkanen 3-pointer for the apparent win. He swished his shot but did not quite release in time.
The Jazz rallied from a slow start and a 14-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead but could not end the losing streak before heading out for a three-game road trip.
The Jazz are just 7-14 on the road, with losses in nine of their past 10 road games. But they had won their previous four games at Toyota Center before the Rockets win against the Jazz in October.
1. Defense, anyone?
Though the games in Utah’s five-game losing streak have been tight, the Jazz have struggled defensively. They ranked 27th in the NBA, allowing 114.9 points per 100 possessions, 119 points in the losing streak.
The Rockets know the feeling. They ranked 28th defensively going into Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans, allowing 115.6 points per 100 possessions.
This can be especially troublesome for the Rockets, who have improved markedly this season at defending at the rim and in the lane but are susceptible to giving up open looks at the 3-point line.
The Jazz, with the fourth-ranked offense in the NBA, make the fifth-most 3s. The Rockets allow the most 3-pointers in the NBA, 14.2 per game before playing the Pelicans.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Toyota Center
TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Radio: 790 AM
2. Who’s in, out?
With Eric Gordon playing in New Orleans on Wednesday, he will likely sit out the second half of the back-to-back, as he has in one game when the Rockets have played on consecutive nights this season. The Rockets are 2-29 in games he has missed the past two seasons, 1-5 this season.
There could be reinforcements coming, however. Jae’Sean Tate, who has played in just three games this season, is considered close to returning from his ankle injury.
That would offer a convenient coincidence, as well as depth at the small forward position where Gordon starts. It will also bring a decision to be made.
When Tate returned from the ankle injury the first time, it was also against the Jazz. He started and played 20 minutes. Making 3 of 5 shots including his lone 3-pointer and getting five rebounds. Tate started again in Phoenix a few nights later when Gordon sat out the first game of a back-to-back.
K.J. Martin has started and played well in games Gordon has missed this season, averaging 13.4 points on 55.1 percent shooting and 35.7 percent 3-point shooting as a starter. (He has made 28.2 percent of his 3s off the bench.)
Tate would bring another ballhandler and passer to the starting lineup and starting would allow him to play in shorter stints, as Gordon usually does to start each half, and then return to games to help handle the ball if the Rockets stagger guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green. Any minutes restriction, which seems likely, could cut into the options, and bring more decisions.
3. Back at center
Rockets center Alperen Sengun did not play in either game against the Jazz this season. He could welcome his first chance to face a Jazz lineup that does not include Rudy Gobert.
Sengun was out with an illness when the Rockets played the Jazz in consecutive games early in the season. He was coming off the bench as a rookie but did not do much in four games against the Jazz, averaging 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds, making 33.3 percent of his shots.
He is a much larger part of the Rockets’ offense this season, averaging 14.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He had at least five assists in four of his six games prior to Wednesday’s against the Pelicans. But in the four games he has played in the second half of a back-to-back this season, Sengun has averaged 8.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
4. Vets vs. kids
If Gordon is out, the Rockets’ likely starting lineup will have a combined 12 seasons of experience, including this season, fewer seasons combined than Gordon or Jazz players Mike Conley and Rudy Gay.
Jazz starters have played in a combined 42 seasons.
Gay, in his 17th season, is 13th among active players, in career points scored. Conley, in his 16th season, is eighth in career assists.
5. War Eagle forever
Former Auburn teammates Jabari Smith Jr. and Walker Kessler meet for the third time as rookies and for the final time in a regular-season game as rookies, though their paths could cross again next month in Salt Lake City if both earn invitations to the Rising Stars challenge on All-Star weekend.
Smith has shot very well in the first two meetings with the Jazz, making 5 of 11 3s to average 15.5 points along with nine rebounds. He went into Wednesday’s game averaging 12.1 points and 6.9 rebounds, ranking fourth in scoring among rookies and second in rebounding.
Kessler comes off the Jazz bench but in 18.8 minutes per game, leads rookies in blocked shots, averaging 1.8 per game and averages 6.5 rebounds. In two games against the Rockets, he has played sparingly scoring four points with two rebounds in 19 ½ minutes.