Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets: Who has the edge at each position?

The Utah Jazz advanced to round two of the playoffs after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games. The Jazz will face the top-seeded Houston rockets in their second-round matchup. At which positional matchups do the Jazz have an advantage?

The Houston Rockets, behind All-Stars Chris Paul and James Harden, will present many of the same challenges to the Jazz that the Oklahoma City Thunder presented. They rely heavily on their stars to create offense. While Utah is accustomed to this style of play, Houston takes it to another level. Their small-ball offense contrasts heavily with Utah’s more traditional lineups.

They have been the league’s best team all season long and their strengths go far beyond their two future Hall of Famers. Utah will need to play to their strengths and exploit Houston’s weaknesses if they want to be competitive in this series.

Despite being a heavy underdog, the Jazz have given us few reasons to ever truly count them out. What positional matchups can Utah most take advantage of in hopes of upsetting the West’s top seed and advance to the Conference Finals?

Houston’s small-ball lineup presents a challenge to actually predict who will match up with who, however, we will just look at each starting lineup based on each team’s 2018 playoff starting fives.

Let’s take a look…

Point Guard: Ricky Rubio* vs. Chris Paul

*Ricky Rubio suffered a hamstring injury in Utah’s Game 6 victory against OKC and will miss at least Sunday’s Game 1 against the Rockets.

Ricky Rubio has been fantastic so far in his first playoff appearance of his career. That is what makes his injury so difficult for Utah to overcome. Fingers crossed that Rubio’s recovery will go well and we’ll be seeing the Spanish Samurai sooner rather than later in this series.

With that said, this is a matchup the Rockets were going to win regardless. Chris Paul is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer. Rubio’s injury just increases the margin of Houston’s advantage at the point guard position.

It will be interesting to see how Utah plans to replace Rubio during his absence. Royce O’Neale, Dante Exum and Alec Burks (with Donovan Mitchell switching to play PG) are all viable options. None, however, come close to matching the level of talent that Chris Paul brings to the table.

Still, the Jazz will be anxious to send Paul packing for the second straight year. 

Despite not yet making a Conference Finals, Paul brings plenty of playoff experience to the series and his ability to facilitate the ball and run Houston’s offense is crucial to their success.

Paul is averaging 19 points, 6.6 assists and four rebounds so far this postseason. No matter who Utah employs to matchup with CP3, they won’t match that kind of production.

Factor in the fact that Paul is also an above average defender and Houston takes this matchup with relative ease.

It will be fun, however, to see Mitchell and Paul matchup throughout the series.

Advantage: Houston

Shooting Guard: Donovan Mitchell vs. James Harden

Donovan Mitchell, coming off an electric first-round series, will most likely not have to do much of the defending on James Harden. That duty will fall on Joe Ingles.

Harden and Mitchell, however, will provide us with dynamic scoring for both sides throughout the series.

Mitchell is fresh off a series in which he out-dueled All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Harden, however, is the future league MVP and will provide an even tougher matchup for the rookie.

Harden, who has flourished next to Paul, averaged 29 points, 7.4 assists and 4.8 rebounds in Houston’s first-round matchup against the Timberwolves. Whether you like it or not, Harden also is a master of drawing fouls and getting to the line.

Mitchell has been fantastic in his inaugural postseason, however, he isn’t quite on the level of Harden. Much like the first round, it’ll be fun to see Mitchell matchup with some of the league’s best.

Advantage: Houston

Small Forward: Joe Ingles vs. Trevor Ariza

As I mentioned above, Joe Ingles will find himself trying to slow down Harden for most of the night. His positional counterpart, however, won’t provide the same offensive potency.

In his 13th season, Trevor Ariza remains a solid role player. Ariza averaged nearly 12 points per game during the regular season and shot 36 percent from three.

Ingles, however, is much more than a role player. The Australian has proven to be a Swiss Army Knife type of player on both sides of the floor.

Ingles’ lock-down defense, floor spacing shooting and ability to run the offense make him one of Utah’s most valuable pieces. Without Rubio, Ingles will need to shoulder even more of the load offensively. The good news is, Ingles has proven to be fantastic at taking on a point-forward role for the Jazz.

Look for a heavy dose of high pick and rolls with Ingles leading the show, which might not be such a bad thing for the Jazz?

Ingles’ composure and ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor tilts this matchup in Utah’s favor.

Advantage: Utah

Power Forward: Derrick Favors vs. P.J. Tucker

Derrick ‘big shot’ Favors!

Without Favors’ HUGE Game 6 jump shot, Utah might be playing in a Game 7 in Oklahoma City in Sunday instead of a Game 1 in Houston.

With Mitchell becoming a star and playing next to Gobert, Favors is commonly overlooked. His consistent play, however, speaks for itself.

Derrick Favors has been an absolute stud for the Jazz. His reliable defensive effort and intensity on the glass will be essential to Utah’s chances against Houston.

P.J. Tucker rounds out Houston’s small-ball lineup. After starting the playoffs 4-of-16 from three, Tucker helped Houston close out their first-round series by going 5-of-7 from downtown, finishing with 15 points.

Tucker has the ability to stretch the floor and keep Favors out of the paint with his shooting, however, Favors should be able to find favorable matchups on the other end. Look for Utah to try to dominate the paint when Houston plays small.

Advantage: Utah

Center: Rudy Gobert vs. Clint Capela

Rudy Gobert and Clint Capela are both coming off hard-fought matchups. Gobert matched up against Steven Adams last round while Capela battled Karl-Anthony Towns.

Both played extremely well in the opening round. Capela, however, is currently playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Can Rudy find a way to slow him down in the second round?

This has potential to be the most important matchup of the series. If Capela can continue his streak of dominating post play, the Jazz are in trouble.

The good news for the Jazz is that Gobert is not one to back down to any challenge. Gobert has been Utah’s foundation and I fully expect him to give Capela a challenge.

Based off Capela’s recent play, this matchup could be considered a push. Gobert, however, has been a dominant interior presence and a game-changer all season long. Rudy is a one-of-a-kind defensive talent. Slight edge to the Jazz here. This one is close though.

Advantage: Utah

Bench

I gave Utah’s second unit the edge in their first-round matchup with OKC and they largely disappointed.

Jae Crowder had some effective stretches, however, he was largely ineffective outside of his 27-point Game 5.

Alec Burks also earned some prizes for his Game 6 minutes in relief of the injured Rubio. Burks provided some much-needed offense for the Jazz. It will be interesting to see if his role increases in the second round.

Players like Exum and Jonas Jerebko, on the other hand, were non-factors in the series.

The Jazz do, however, have the talent necessary to match up with Houston. And while depth isn’t as much of a factor in the postseason, their ability to mold lineups to match up with Houston is invaluable.

There is no questioning Utah’s depth on the bench, however, Houston has possibly the league’s best sixth man in Eric Gordon.

Gordon average 18 points per game off of Houston’s bench during the regular season, making over three three-pointers per game.

If the Jazz second unit doesn’t rise up to the occasion, Gordon alone may have what it takes to outscore Utah’s reserves.

Houston’s second unit hasn’t been great, ranking 8th among the 16 playoff teams. In comparison, the Jazz have been the 14th best unit of the postseason.

Based on recent play and the Eric Gordon factor, I have to give this one to Houston. Again, though, this one is close.

Advantage: Houston

Coaching: Quin Snyder vs. Mike D’Antoni

Utah’s decisive coaching advantage was obvious in the first round. Quin Snyder out-coached Billy Donovan time and time again. Despite Houston’s top-heavy talent and depth, I fully expect Snyder to be an X-factor for the Jazz again in round two.

His ability to put guys in the right place to be successful is uncanny. Replacing Rubio’s production will be tough. However, I think Snyder is up to the task.

Mike D’Antoni is well-known for his high-scoring and fast paced offenses. This Rockets squad is no exception. The major difference between this year’s team and D’Antoni units of the past is Houston’s newfound ability to defend. Give D’Antoni credit for that.

D’Antoni is a good coach in his own respect, however, this one goes to Snyder. At this point, I’m not sure there is a coach outside of Greg Popovich that I would take over Snyder.

This isn’t as big of an edge for Utah as it was in the opening round, however, Snyder’s brilliance is too much to overlook.

Advantage: Utah

Totals

UTAH – 4

HOUSTON – 3

Wait?! Utah has a 4-3 edge in the series? That means Jazz in seven, right? Not quite. While I believe The Jazz have an edge at coaching and a at a few positional battles, Houston is a better team than OKC.

Houston’s advantages, especially in their backcourt, are a wide enough margin to make up for Utah’s overall advantages.

The combination of Harden and Paul is as difficult of a duo to slow down as any. Factor in Capela, Gordon and Houston’s army of three-point specialists, and the Rockets seem to ultimately have the upper hand.

The Jazz were 0-4 against this Houston club during the regular season, losing every game by double digits. The Rockets are widely considered to be the favorite to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.

It will take Utah’s best team basketball to upset this Rockets squad. If the Jazz can take advantage of their struggle and limit Houston’s three point shooting, the Jazz could be primed to shock the NBA world.

Next: Utah Jazz: Keys to a series win over the Houston Rockets

Do you agree with the matchups? What do you think is Utah’s best chance at upsetting the Rockets in round two? Let me know in the comments or find me on Twitter @TylerDThorpe.