Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Prediction: Jazz to extend winning streak

Houston and Utah were initially considered one of the top underdogs in the Western Conference. In the case of the Rockets, that prediction has held true so far, but the Jazz surprised everyone by winning all of their games at the start of the regular season. Will the visitors be able to extend their winning streak?

Houston Rockets

The Rockets continue to develop their youth and right now they're obviously in a better situation than Oklahoma, for example. Jalen Green is already proving he's capable of being a star, averaging 23.7 points per three games. Tari Eason has performed well in the preseason, but Kenyon Martin, who recently demanded a trade, is getting more playing time at his position. On the offensive side of the ball Jabari Smith Jr. is even more useful than Green in his first season, but Houston's head coach has experimented with the center position all of a sudden. Alperen Sengun, despite the buzz around him, has yet to receive 30 minutes playing time. The Turkish big man's skills are indeed limited, and his beautiful passes and assertiveness in the paint aren't enough to give carte blanche to Alperen to the detriment of other young players. Bruno Fernando was in the starting lineup, but now he's in the sickbay. Also, TyTy Washington and Jae'Sean Tate are unavailable due to injuries.

After losses to Atlanta and Memphis, Stephen Silas's team lost to Milwaukee, 105-125. Of the starting five, only Kenyon Martin and Usman Garuba shot over 50% from the field, the Spanish big man's contribution being modest. Jalen Green shot well from beyond the arc, but he missed consistently from midrange. Jabari Smith and Kevin Porter had the same problem, and they had to do something about their ineffective shots since they lacked skill. It didn't help that Houston won the game on the opposite side either: 4 of the team's 15 offensive rebounds were grabbed by Garuba.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz are the NBA's biggest revelation so far. They beat three playoff contenders — Denver, Minnesota and New Orleans — in 3 games in a row. Utah's lineup really isn't that bad, with Lauri Markkanen surprising the most, averaging 24 points per game. Jordan Clarkson and Kelly Olynyk have also opened up well, while Collin Sexton has come off the bench more often than not, ceding the starting point guard role to the more experienced Mike Conley. Utah is shooting a lot of three-pointers and leads the NBA in three-point attempts right now. "he Jazz are tenacious defensively and share first place in steals with the Los Angeles Lakers (11.3 per game) and are also great combining and handing out the most assists. Injuries also have not hindered the Salt Lake City squad. All of their strongest players are ready to play against Houston.

The day before Will Hardy's team defeated New Orleans 122-121 on the road. The three-pointers weren't as good this time, with Clarkson, Markkanen and Conley missing a lot. Kelly Olynyk was once again excellent with 20 points and Markkanen scored nearly all of his points under the basket to become Utah's highest scorer with 31 points. His defense in the paint, however, left much to be desired and the Jazz missed too many shots on the fast break.

Expert Betting Tips

The Rockets and Jazz could be described as two opposites in terms of their organization. Houston is all about Jalen Green and Kevin Porter and we can only pray that the young stars get going. The Rockets are having trouble with their combination basketball, while Utah is making good field-goal opportunities because of it. The visitors have a number of players capable of shooting high percentage from beyond the arc, and even under 40% shooting allowed the visitors to beat New Orleans the day before. Face-to-face meetings also speak in favor of the Jazz, so our prediction for this game is as follows:

• TO (231.5) for 1.83;
• W2 (incl. OT) for 1.80;
• H2 (-5.5) for 2.425.

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