Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets: Keys to earning first road victory

The Utah Jazz will have a tough time earning their first road victory of the season as they visit the Houston Rockets tonight.

The Utah Jazz have had yet another week of ups and downs. After using a strong second half to topple the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, they managed to grind out a gutsy and somewhat surprising overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Then on Friday, in a game I expected them to be able to win against a road-weary Toronto Raptors, it was instead the Jazz that appeared less energized and Toronto came out on top.

And perhaps most discouraging about Utah’s loss to Toronto was their inconsistent and often non-existent offense. It certainly wasn’t perfect in the win over Portland, either, but it was at least enough to come away with a victory. Against Toronto, though, Utah struggled to find a rhythm and ultimately fell short.

It’s quite possible that the Jazz will have this issue for a while as their offense is still very much working to find an identity and a rhythm. While that’s somewhat to be expected, it’s also something that will need to be quickly rectified if Utah is to have any hope of defeating a tough Houston Rockets team tonight and earning their first road victory of the 2017-18 season.

Quite frankly, it seems like a tall task when considering Houston’s elite offensive ability, Utah’s recent performances and their lackluster offense, but they surprised me against Portland and if they can surprise me yet again, they may be able to find a way to come out on top. Here’s a look at how the Jazz will get it done if they are to earn a win tonight. Not surprisingly, it starts with offense: