Utah Jazz-Houston Rockets Round 2 schedule and primer

Having dispatched the OKC 3 in Round 1, the Utah Jazz have secured a second-round date with James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

Against all odds, the Utah Jazz’s improbable forward march continues. After falling to 19-28 in January, the team has steamrolled its way to prominence in the wild Western Conference. On Friday, the Jazz wrapped up their first-round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, it’s onto Round 2 and the Houston Rockets.

Without question, the Big 3 of OKC gave the Jazz band its fair share of headaches. Things are going to hit another level, though, when Jazz defenders square up against James Harden.

About the Rockets

As is the case with just about every squad in the Association, Harden has feasted on the Jazz D historically. Over the past two seasons, he’s averaged 33 points, seven assists, over five rebounds and nearly two steals per contest against Utah.

He dropped 56 on 19-of-25 shooting and 7-of-8 from distance against the Jazz earlier this season.

If he were all the Jazz had to contend with, that would be one thing. However, Coach Mike D’Antoni‘s team is loaded with potential problems.

Chris Paul is coming off a first-round series during which he dropped a 19-8-5 line on the Minnestoa Timberwolves. He may have an extra measure of motivation, too. After all, the Jazz were responsible for ending his playoff run with the LA Clippers last season.

Meanwhile, Clint Capela is one of the few big men league-wide that can cause Rudy Gobert problems down low. Then there’s the issue of the longball; the Rockets have no less than eight rotational players that hit the three at 35 percent or better during the regular season.

They also led the NBA in 3-point makes per game at over 15 per contest.

About the Jazz

As for the Jazz, defense continues to tell the tale. Despite facing a top 10 offense loaded with high-level scorers in Round 1, the Jazz have given up just 100.7 points per 100 possessions in the postseason. That’s third best among playoff teams; just a hair below the top-ranked Golden State Warriors (100.3).

Utah’s starting five boasted a D-rating of just 94.6 against OKC.

Offensively, the Jazz got contributions from across their roster in the first-round. That said, no player shined brighter than Donovan Mitchell. The things he did in the series were simply historic.

Here’s the rundown:

• Mitchell was the third rookie in the last 35 seasons with multiple 30-point games in a series. The other two: Michael Jordan and Alonzo Mourning.

• The 171 points Mitchell scored in his first six career playoff games were the third most by a rookie in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.

• He was also the fourth rookie in NBA history to drop 35 or more points in a series-clinching victory. The others are Chamberlain, Kareem and Magic Johnson.

In other words, this kid gets buckets. And the Jazz are going to need them when they take on the Rockets.

Here’s the schedule —

Game 1

• Date: Sunday, April 29
• Time: 1:30 PM MT
• Location: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
• TV: ABC
• Streaming: WatchESPN

Series schedule (to be updated)

• Game 1 @ Houston: Sunday, April 29, 1:30 PM MT, ABC
• Game 2 @ Houston: Wednesday, May 2, 6 PM MT, TNT
• Game 3 in Salt Lake City: Friday, May 4, 8:30 PM MT, ESPN
• Game 4 in Salt Lake City: Sunday, May 6, 6 PM MT, TNT
• Game 5 @ Houston: TBD (if necessary)
• Game 6 in Salt Lake City: TBD (if necessary)
• Game 7 @ Houston: TBD (if necessary)

Next: Official says no foul on Paul George non-call

Programming note: there will be no local/Jazz broadcasts for the remainder of the playoffs. We’ll update the national broadcast schedule as information becomes available.