The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz are set to square off for the fourth time this season on Saturday night. The Jazz have won two of the first three games against the Rockets this season and have been playing great ball of late. Houston is still dealing with a ton of injuries at this point, but James Harden is keeping them in the playoff race.
Houston saw their three-game winning streak snapped in their last outing against the New Orleans Pelican. The Rockets come into this game with a record of 29-21 and are near the top of the Southwest Division standings. Utah has won nine of their last 11 games entering play on Friday night, and are charging up the standings in the West. The Jazz are 7.0 point favorites over the Rockets in this game.
Jazz Defending At High Level
The Utah Jazz still have some things to fix on offense, but their defense has been among the league’s best this season. Utah is allowing just 105.7 points per game which is the fifth-best scoring defense in the entire NBA. Center Rudy Gobert is the anchor of the Jazz defense and is averaging 2.2 blocks per game. The Jazz prefer the game to be played at a slow place, and if their defense is set they are hard to score on.
Donovan Mitchell is the only real scoring threat that the Jazz can rely on each night. Mitchell leads the team with over 22 points per game but has the ability to lead the team to victory on most nights. The Jazz are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA this season, making just over 34 percent of their attempts. If Utah is going to be a threat in the playoffs, they are going to have to find some more scoring.
Harden Still A One-Man Show
With Chris Paul and Clint Capela still out for the Rockets, James Harden has turned into a one-man show. Harden leads the NBA with 36.3 points per game this season, but put up eye-popping numbers in January. It’s almost incredible how many shots Harden takes per game, but opposing teams don’t seem to have an answer to stop him. The matchup of Harden against the Jazz defense could be worth the price of admission.
The Rockets have actually been playing better defense of late, but they are still giving up close to 111 points per game. Houston jacks up a ton of three-point shots, and that puts their defense in tough positions throughout the game. The Rockets will have plenty of scoring when they get everyone healthy, but defense will always be a question mark in Houston.
Take the Points in this Game
James Harden is good enough to lead his team to a huge road victory over the Jazz in this game. The fact that the Rockets are getting 7.0 points on Saturday night makes it even more intriguing to pick them. Utah is playing great of late, but they don’t ever blow anyone out. Take the 7.0 points and bet the Houston Rockets over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
