Game Thread: Utah Jazz in must-win mode against rival Rockets

Following last night’s brutal loss to San Antonio, the Utah Jazz are back at it in a must-win situation against the Houston Rockets.

Just like many fans feared, the All-Star break came at the wrong time for the Utah Jazz. They had been rolling and built some serious momentum with four straight wins, but last night’s loss to the Spurs showed a lack of focus, intensity and discipline.

Things won’t get any easier for the Jazz, as they must regroup for a match-up with the Houston Rockets on a back-to-back. Over the past two years, the Jazz have had an incredibly difficult time against the Rockets, both physically and mentally.

The Jazz, however, did beat the Rockets in their own building the last time these two teams met. The win came off the fingertips of Bojan Bogdanović, who hit the incredible game-winning triple. Could that have been a boost of confidence against a team that has their number? Hopefully.

Regardless, this is going to be a really tough game for the Jazz. They put a lot of effort in a fourth-quarter comeback attempt last night and will now be flying around defensively against a perimeter-centric team in Houston.

I hope that the players come into tonight’s game with more of a sense of urgency. The Rockets are just one game behind the Jazz in the standings, and with just 27 games remaining in the season, every single game counts.

This is a massive game. Winning this one gives the Jazz the edge in the season-series and inches them closer to home-court advantage in the playoffs. The fourth seed is nice, but the Jazz have higher hopes, so this is a game they’ll need to steal.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — I think the Jazz are as talented as any team in the Western Conference. They’ve lacked consistency at times this season, and that’s something that needs to be addressed.

The players need to be locked in every single night. That wasn’t the case last night, and we’ll see if history repeats itself tonight. I do think that the effort will be better coming off a bad loss.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 7:00 PM on February 22nd from Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM and 1280 AM Salt Lake City)

Projected Starting Lineups

Utah Jazz                Position               Houston Rockets

Rudy Gobert                C                       P.J. Tucker

Bojan Bogdanović    PF                      Robert Covington

Joe Ingles                    SF                      Danuel House

Donovan Mitchell     SG                      James Harden

Mike Conley               PG                      Russell Westbrook

Injuries

Nigel Williams-Goss remains out for the Utah Jazz as he recovers from a left quad contusion. This is his second straight game on the sidelines.

Eric Gordon is questionable to play tonight with a lower left leg contusion. Coming into tonight, he has missed three consecutive games, including Houston’s last match-up with Utah. Considering how badly he hurt the Jazz in the first match-up this season, let’s hope that he’s out for a fourth straight.

Prediction

I wish I was feeling more confident going into this game, but I just don’t see the Jazz winning tonight. Houston is an extremely dangerous team and play a style that Utah is uncomfortable guarding.

I don’t think this game will be an embarrassment. I think the Jazz will keep it close throughout. I’ll go with a final score of 112-105.

Discussion

#HOUatUTA is the hashtag on Twitter, and as always the comment thread will be available for some live game chatter. Go Jazz!