4. Houston Rockets – 5. Utah Jazz
Regular Season Series: Tied 2-2
Last but not least, we arrive to our beloved Utah Jazz. The Jazz have done quite well as the fifth seed in recent seasons, winning twice in a row in that position over teams that many deemed superior. Utah even has some history of success defeating Houston in the 4-5 matchup as they did so in both 2007 and 2008.
But this may very well be the toughest Houston team Utah has ever faced. James Harden is a legitimate MVP candidate. Chris Paul remains one of the savviest and most dangerous point guards in the league. Role players like P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon are as capable as they come. The way the Rockets play presents a difficult matchup for the Jazz and keeping the entire squad in check will be no easy task.
However, earlier in the week, I already detailed some reasons why Jazz fans should be feeling a bit more optimistic than what we saw in this matchup a year ago. To summarize, Donovan Mitchell is significantly better, Utah has Ricky Rubio this time around and this Houston team, though still among the elite, simply isn’t quite as formidable as they were last season. That’s especially true on defense where they lost some significant difference makers this past summer.
All told, I think the Jazz will make this a much more competitive series than last year. They have time to prep for the Rockets and have certainly been salivating over this potential rematch for quite some time. This will likely be a battle of a series for both teams that will leave whichever one advances feeling beat down and ragged.
Unfortunately, while I think Utah’s odds are better than most, I’m still projecting that ultimately Houston will come out on top. The Harden and Paul backcourt just causes too many fits for the Jazz and the Rockets pick-and-roll that consistently put Rudy Gobert in a lose-lose situation trying to stop either a prolific guard or Clint Capela at the rim worked all too well a year ago. I’m sure Quin Snyder and the Jazz will be better prepared for it, but on too many levels the Rockets have been just too tough for the Jazz to stop.
So expect a thriller as an improved Jazz team does battle against a slightly weaker Rockets team than last year’s first round, but I still believe the star-studded Houston squad will be the one to come out ahead when all is said and done.
Prediction: Rockets in 7
So there you have it, Jazz fans. Those are my picks for the first round of playoff action. Let me know your selections in the comments below or on Twitter.