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

Key #3 – Approach Houston with confidence

The Houston Rockets were touted as one of the league’s best teams heading into this season, thanks largely to the addition of All-Star Chris Paul. Even though Paul has been sidelined for essentially the entire season with a knee injury, the Rockets have still been a solid team as they reside atop the Western Conference tied with the Golden State Warriors at 7-3.

They’ve been highly touted as a powerhouse all season long and there’s no denying that the Jazz are by and large the underdog in this match-up. Nevertheless, last season was a similar story as the Houston Rockets had a surprisingly impressive season under head coach Mike D’Antoni which saw them ultimately finish third in the West where they resided for most of the 2016-17 season. That meant Utah was the underdog in those contests as well, but the Jazz were able to win two of the three.

This was largely due to the fact that Utah’s suffocating defense was very much the perfect antidote for Houston’s fast-paced, three-point heavy offense. When the Jazz were able to control the tempo, slow James Harden and force the Rockets out of their rhythm, they were able to come out on top.

A lot has changed for both teams since last season – the Jazz added a slew of new players and the Rockets had to give up a lot in order to get Chris Paul, but are still playing exceptionally without him. Despite the changes in personnel, though, the styles of both teams have remained very much the same. Therefore, even though the Jazz may very well be viewed as the underdog in this contest, knowing that they fared quite well against them as the underdog last season ought to instill them with quite a lot of confidence.

And that’s exactly how they have to go into tonight’s game – with a belief that they can match Houston blow-for-blow and a determination that they are more than capable of defeating them. The Jazz showed last year that playing against Houston was a favorable match-up for them and they ought to have a desire to prove that yet again this year.

The Rockets may very well be one of the elite teams in the West, but the Jazz are a team that is designed to play spoiler with their relentless defense and deep roster, so if they can prove that tonight, it’s completely possible that they’ll be able to come out on top.