ROUND TWO
An early look at the Rockets vs. Jazz NBA playoff series
SportsMap staff
Apr 27, 2018, 8:05 am
James Harden and the Rockets will get Utah in Round 2. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The Rockets know their next opponent in the 2018 playoffs.
The Utah Jazz beat Oklahoma City 96-91 to wrap up their series Friday night. Utah, the five seed, finished 48-34, but were one of the hottest teams in basketball down the stretch. The strength for Utah is defense, as the Jazz ranked second in the NBA.
The Rockets swept the season series between the teams, but most of the games were early on. The Jazz will be facing a quick turnaround, as Game 1 is Sunday afternoon at Toyota Center. They also might be without point guard Ricky Rubio, who left Friday night's game with a hamstring injury.
The complete series schedule will not be determined until the Boston-Milwaukee series is settled, but Game 2 will be Wednesday at Toyota Center.
What to watch for the Jazz: Center Rudy Gobert will represent a serious matchup problem for the Rockets, but then so did Karl-Anthony Towns and we saw haw that worked out. Rubio played at a high level throughout the Thunder series, and his availability will be key. Rookie star Donovan Mitchell had 38 points in the win over the Thunder Friday night and averaged 20.5 points per game in the regular season and upped that to 28.5 in the opening playoff series. The two teams have a long playoff history, but that was a long time ago and does not include any current players. The Jazz will offer a nice test, and their defense might win them a game or two, but the Rockets have too much firepower and should advance.
Game 1 details
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Site: Toyota Center.
TV: ABC
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The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!