Triliogy of Utah-Houston Rivalry on the rise?

J_Ray · Mar 24, 2009

If you're going to play a team 24 times in three seasons, including consecutive first-round playoff series, it helps to have a sense of humor, as Houston's Shane Battier most certainly does.

"The good news is I just closed on an apartment in downtown Salt Lake City," Battier said Monday after the Rockets practice. "I figured I'm here so much that I may as well just go ahead and sign a lease."

All joking aside, there will be little need to go over the scouting report, dim the lights for player introductions or exchange pleasantries on the court when the Jazz and Rockets meet again tonight at EnergySolutions Arena.

As often as they play, the two teams might as well be the NBA's equivalent of War and Peace, with no end in sight to their story. Lost on no one is the fact that if the playoffs started today, the Jazz and Rockets would face each other yet again.

Such a prospect goes down about as easy as an all-you-can-eat buffet after a seven-course dinner. The teams are separated by 2½ games in the standings, with Houston owning the Western Conference's second-best record and the Jazz in seventh.

"Maybe it's destiny that we play them in the first round," Deron Williams said.

"Part of me does think that," Kyle Korver echoed. "But really, one game can decide so much. It's all so tight. I feel like we probably will get them again, but who knows?"

It wouldn't be as rare an occurrence as it seems, with 13 examples since 1990, the most recent being Washington and Cleveland the last three playoffs. But if the Rockets and Jazz add to the list, Korver was asked if it wouldn't have to be considered a trilogy.

"There's not a whole lot of great trilogies out there, either, so probably don't hope for that," he said.

The Jazz have won 14 of 23 games against the Rockets while twice ending Houston's season in the playoffs. Yao Ming admitted he was "a little bit" sick of seeing the Jazz and said there was little need for a pregame meeting to go over the opposition.
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igotask8board · Mar 27, 2009

It would suck for Houston. Our best player is also the slowest player in the league. The Rockets have to play him against the Jazz bigs that can hit from the perimeter. It would be "on Ron" meaning he would have to step up both offensively and defensively. I still believe the Rockets would lose.

It's not destiny, Deron. It was destiny in 94 and 95 when the Rockets beat Utah twice and won every series as the underdogs after coming back from being down 3-1 or 3-2.

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Triliogy of Utah-Houston Rivalry on the rise?

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