This Thursday, the (19-21) Utah Jazz will travel to Houston, TX to take on the (10-27) Houston Rockets. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Toyota Center (Houston). This will be the third and final time these two teams match up this season, as the Jazz won the last meeting, 109-101.
The Jazz is coming into this game after losing to the Sacramento Kings, 117-115. They struggled on the defensive end of the court, as they will have to get more consistent stops in this one if they want to challenge the Rockets on the road.
The Rockets are entering this matchup after losing to the Dallas Mavericks, 111-106. They did not look great on the offensive end of the court, as they only shot 31% from three. They will have to be more efficient in this game if they want to challenge the Jazz at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Utah Jazz are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference standings, as they are 6.5 games back from the first-place Nuggets. On offense, they are scoring 117.2 points per game and they have shot 47% from the floor. This is the fourth most points scored per contest and the 15th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Jazz have an adjusted offensive rating of 116.5, which is the third-highest rating in the NBA. Lauri Markkanen continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 23.9 points per game on 52.9% shooting from the floor. Utah has also shown that they have snipers littered throughout their roster. They are shooting 36.5% from behind the arc, which is the 13th-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. Utah has also been decent at the charity stripe, as they are currently shooting 78.3% from the line. This is the 16th-highest free-throw shooting percentag e, as they can't miss out on these free looks and consistently win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Jazz is surrendering 116.6 points per game and their opponents have shot 48.5% from the floor. This is the 25th-lowest shooting percentage allowed and the 23rd-least amount of points given up per game. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Jazz have an adjusted defensive rating of 115.7, which is the 27th lowest rating in the NBA. They have struggled to consistently contest shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has saved them multiple times this season. They are only allowing their opponents to shoot 34.7% from deep, which is the seventh-lowest three-point shooting percentage surrendered in the league. The Utah Jazz is also grabbing 43.6 rebounds per game, which is the 14th most. They have to secure the ball after missed shots if they want to keep the Rockets from scoring second-chance points.
Injury Report: Collin Sexton PF (Hamstring) and Johnny Juzang SG (Wrist) are both listed as out.
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