Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz game preview
The Rockets take their 10-game winning streak into Salt Lake City The Houston Rockets are set to play against the Utah Jazz in the upcoming play-in tournament. The Jazz, which has been struggling with injuries and tanking, have lost 3-18 since their original record of 26-26. Despite this, Utah is now just a game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth-best odds in the lottery. The Houston Rockets, however, do not hold the tiebreaker over the Golden State Warriors, and their chances of winning out are zero. Utah's focus is on the upcoming game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Được phát hành : 4 tuần trước qua Armin Khansari trong Sports
In early February, the Utah Jazz were 26-26 and were ahead of the Houston Rockets in the race to the play-in tournament.
Since then, the Jazz have dealt with a combination of injuries and outright tanking. They are 3-18 since that .500 record, with those wins coming against lottery teams. Clearly, the Jazz have decided to push as deep into the lottery as they can, and are now just a game ahead (behind?) the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth-best odds in the lottery. They’re likely to pass the Nets since Brooklyn doesn’t really care either way, but Utah probably can’t climb much higher than that.
The Houston Rockets are still just a game out of 10th place in the West, but they do not hold the tiebreaker over the Golden State Warriors. So technically, winning out isn’t enough for Houston even if they beat the Warriors next month. And with that upcoming schedule, Houston’s chances of winning out are zero. The odds remain firmly in Golden State’s favor, though the win in Oklahoma City was really nice to see and could easily be considered the most important Rockets game of the past four years.
Utah’s going to be hungry for this game though. Remember, a tanking team does not include the players. Or the coaching staff, necessarily. In front of a raucous crowd, the Jazz would love to spoil Houston’s winning streak and hopes of a miraculous run. There are no trap games when you’re in 11th place, but this should be a feisty contest.
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
Sunday night in Dallas against the Dallas Mavericks
Chủ đề: Basketball, NBA, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets