The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: Keys to a series win over the Houston Rockets

By Jared Woodcox

HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 18: Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz share a moment after the game between the two teams on December 18, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 18: Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz share a moment after the game between the two teams on December 18, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – APRIL 27: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz celebrates the Jazz win at the end of Game Six of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 27, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz beat the Thunder 96-91 to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – APRIL 27: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz celebrates the Jazz win at the end of Game Six of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 27, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz beat the Thunder 96-91 to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

Mitchell needs to keep playing well, but needs help on offense, too

Donovan Mitchell was absolutely riveting in Utah’s first round series against OKC. Just as he did in the regular season, he led his team in scoring, but at an even higher clip of 28.5 points per game. He also shot 46.2 percent from the field and a solid 36.4 percent from deep while pulling down a shocking 7.2 rebounds per game and notching nearly three assists.

If the Jazz are to have any hope of keeping up with Houston, they’ll need Donovan to continue to produce at that level, if not even higher. I’m confident that Utah’s defense will be able to disrupt the Rockets and at least shake them out of their typical groove. But even so, Houston has so much firepower that it is going to be a real struggle for the Jazz to keep pace offensively even if their defense is clicking.

That’s especially true considering that Ricky Rubio is set to miss at least Game 1 of the series and likely much longer as he deals with a hamstring injury that held him out of most of Game 6 of the first round. When Rubio left Game 6 against OKC with the hamstring issue, Utah’s offense instantly sputtered to a dangerous degree as they worked to adapt to his absence.

If the Jazz undergo similar droughts against the prolific offense of the Houston Rockets, they’ll be buried before they even get a chance to get back into the game.

With such being the case, while it will be important for Mitchell to continue with his offensive barrage, he’s going to need help on offense in the form of several of his teammates stepping up. Prior to the hamstring injury, Ricky Rubio was Utah’s second-leading scorer through the first five games of the series. With him out of commission, offensive contributions from the other guys will be even more important.

One of the first to come to mind is Joe Ingles who averaged 14.2 points per contest in the first round. When his three-point shot is dropping, he’s one of Utah’s most dangerous assets and that will absolutely need to be the case in this upcoming series. Big men Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors need to continue to be active as well. And last of all, the Jazz could use a significantly better effort from their bench.

Jae Crowder was inefficient and often made poor decisions on offense against OKC. If he’s able to rectify those issues and fill the sixth man role as effectively as he did during the regular season, it will provide a major lift for the Jazz who are in need of another reliable scorer alongside Donovan.

Regardless of who it is, or if the individual or individuals switch every game, the fact remains that Mitchell needs help on offense so that the Jazz can generate enough points to keep pace with the Rockets who were second in the league in both points per game and offensive rating during the regular season.

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