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Jeremy Perry
Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets: Game 2 Prediction, NBA Playoff Odds
The Houston Rockets made a statement when they opened their second round series with a 110-96 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. Now they will look to double down on their home court in order to take control of the series before it shifts to Salt Lake City. Can the Jazz slow down Harden and company just enough to bounce back with a win on Wednesday night?
NBA Playoffs Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Houston improved to 4-0 on its home court in these playoffs with the Game 1 win. They are now 17-6 ATS and 21-3 SU against Northwest Division opponents this season.
The Jazz typically play well against these types of high-scoring opponents but they didn’t look like it in Game 1. Overall, they’ve covered 16 of their last 23 against teams that average 106 points per game or more while winning 18 of those contests.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz looked a step slow in their 14-point loss to Houston in Game 1. Fatigue might have played a role after a grueling seven-game series with the Thunder in round one. They had an emotional high on Friday night when they ousted the Thunder and then had short rest before their Sunday afternoon road trip to Houston.
Defense will be the key for Utah in Game 2 after they allowed Houston to hit 45.1% of its shots from the field in the series opener. Meanwhile, Utah needs more offense from its starting five. Donovan Mitchell and Jae Crowder led the way for the Jazz in Game 1, both scoring 21 points. The rest of the starting lineup had a total of 30 points.
With Ricky Rubio out, the Jazz need a lot more from everyone – including Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles. Both might need to combine for about 40-50 points for this team to have a reasonable shot.
Houston Rockets
Harden scored 41 points including seven three-point shots with eight rebounds and seven assists in the series opener. Meanwhile, Chris Paul chipped in with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds. Three-point shooting definitely gave Houston the edge in Game 1 as they hit 17 three balls compared to just seven for the Jazz. They were mostly in cruise control in this contest, leading by 13 after a quarter and 25 at the half.
It will be interesting to see if the Rockets can cover once again. Four of Houston’s five wins in these playoffs have been by 14 points or more. Based on what we saw in Game 1, there is a very good chance that trend continues. The Jazz just can’t get into their shootouts and they aren’t capable of slowing the Rockets down on the road where Houston dictates the style of play.
