Utah Jazz (10-6) @ Houston (9-7) When: Wednesday 3, 8:30 pm (ET) Utah road record : 1-5 Houston home record : 5-1 Utah's streak going into the game : Won 4 Houston's streak going into the game : Lost 3 Last met- Wednesday 26 November 2003, Utah 83 Houston 76 @ the Delta Center. Standings Utah : 2nd Midwest Houston : 4th Midwest Likely Starters Utah/Houston PG-Raul Lopez/Steve Francis SG-Deshawn Stevenson/Cuttino Mobley SF-Matt Harpring/Jim Jackson PF-Andrei Kirilenko/Kelvin Cato C-Greg Ostertag/Yao Ming Injured players Utah-Carlos Arroyo, Keon Clark. Houston-Mike Wilks Keys to the game, Utah Utah needs to start being able to win on the road and this is the right time to start. They are outmatched in the line ups, but that hasn't been a problem for them when they play a good team game. Raul Lopez and Mo Williams will have to step it up again. They last played Jason Kidd, so it shouldn't be that bigger task for them. Andrei Kirilenko has to hit open shots from the perimeter or 3, so Kelvin Cato comes out to mark him, which Utah wants as last time he had a monster game on the boards which is where Utah are beating teams, rebounding. Greg Ostertag will have to try and limit Yao Ming's shots and not give away free throws. Him and Andrei will have to rebound and block more than usual. Keys to the game, Houston Steve Francis has an undersized rookie guarding him, he has to exploit this weakness in Utah's game. He should drive and shoot more and not look for as many passes as usual. Yao and Kelvin Cato will have to watch out for blocks from Andrei Kirilenko and Greg Ostertag, their blocks are very impotrant to Utah's chances. If Houston can get Utah's starters in foul trouble, Utah will have to resort to their bench, which is not deep by any means. If they can get Curtis Borchardt replacing Tag, Jarron Collins replacing AK47, Pavlovic replacing Harp, Raja Bell replacing Deshawn Stevenson and Mo Williams replacing Raul Lopez, Utah will be in huge trouble. They got to limit Utah's rebounding and have a good shooting % as Utah keep their opposition's low but aren't high scorers themselves. Prediction-This game could go either way, Utah have been winning but are on the road, Houston have been losing but are at home and have had the chance to rest up. But I'll say Houston by 3 points or less as Utah are struggling on the road and Houston are a quality team. However if Utah won it wouldn't surprise me.
These are 2 teams playing completely opposite brands of basketball right now. You would have to favor the Jazz in this one until Houston just "give the damn ball" to Yao Ming every possession. Sorry Keyshawn
I am actually going to have to go with Houston. Utah plays lousy on the road. I think they rely on the homefield advantage. Although I do hope that changes soon, maybe tonight
Deshawn Stevenson isn't playing, Pavlovic started. But there's no problem with that from me, he's got 14 points in 9 minutes. 6-7 shooting, 2-2 3 pointers. 2 rebounds and 1 foul. All in 9 minutes. If I was Deshawn, I'd be watching that starting spot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BallerAK47:</div><div class="quote_post"> think they rely on the homefield advantage.</div> So thats where they play basketball in Utah
I was saying, they have to have the homefield to win games. Its a boost for them, otherwise they struggle. Utah has great fans
Well Jazz lost in OT 107-101 On a good note, AK had an awesome line 19 pts on 6-11 shooting, 5 boards, 7 assists, 8 steals, and 5 blocks
That was a good game by Utah, despite the loss. Houston just pulled away in OT. They were missing Deshawn a lot, even though Pavlovic played well he let Mobley drop 32. Raul Lopez and Mo Williams are really surprisin me they way they are playing against all star guards like Steve Francis(twice) and Jason Kidd. *I'll try to keep doing previews but I probably wont be able to do every game.*
