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The Rockets only shot 36.7% from the floor on Saturday and the Jazz shot 52.1% from the floor which explains the loss. Shane Battier was a perfect 7 for 7 from the floor as he finished with 22 points and 3 rebounds. Tracy McGrady had a rough game as he only shot 7 for 21 from the floor but he still finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Luis Scola pitched in with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals. The Jazz are now up 1-0 in this series.
The Rockets faced an uphill climb after Yao Ming broke his leg but somehow they kept winning. The Jazz are healthy and ready to go in this series. Here’s a closer look at the matchups:
POINT GUARD: Rafer Alston might miss a couple games in this series but he’s the little guy who makes the offense go. Alston played in 74 games (24 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Deron Williams is one of the best point guards in the NBA and the Rockets will have a hard time containing him. Williams played in 82 games (all starts) last season for the Jazz and he averaged 18.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Look for Williams to have an outstanding series.
EDGE: BIG FOR THE JAZZ
SHOOTING GUARD: Tracy McGrady is without a doubt the go-to man on the Rockets with Yao out. McGrady played in 66 games (62 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 21.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Look for T-Mac to be a little more selfish than usual in this series as the Rockets will need him to carry the load on offense.
Ronnie Brewer stepped up as a full-time starter this season for the Jazz. He played in 76 games (all starts) this season for the Jazz and he averaged 12.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Brewer is just scratching the surface of his potential.
EDGE: ROCKETS
SMALL FORWARD: Shane Battier is the ultimate team player for the Rockets. He played in 80 games (78 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 9.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He will be at a size disadvantage against Andrei Kirilenko.
Andrei “AK-47″ Kirilenko started to get his groove back this year. He played in 72 games (all starts) this season for the Jazz and he averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Look for Kirilenko to try to bully Battier down on the blocks.
EDGE: JAZZ
POWER FORWARD: The Rockets stole power forward Luis Scola in a trade with the Spurs in the off-season. Scola played in 82 games (39 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Look for him to improve on those numbers in this series.
Carlos Boozer is one of the best power forwards in all of the NBA. He played in 81 games (all starts) this season for the Jazz and he averaged 21.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Look for Boozer to have an outstanding series against the Rockets.
EDGE: JAZZ
CENTER: The Rockets had to get Dikembe Mutombo out of mothballs after the injury to Yao Ming. Mutombo played in 39 games (25 starts) for the Rockets and he averaged 3.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. All the Rockets need from Mutombo is defense and rebouding in this series.
Mehmet Okur will give Mutombo problems on defense as he will drag him away from the basket. Okur played in 72 games (all starts) last season for the Jazz and he averaged 14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
EDGE: JAZZ
BENCH: The Rockets have a lot of talent on the bench but they are young. Bobby Jackson is the graybeard of this bunch. He played in 26 games (5 starts) for the Rockets and he averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Carl Landry was quite a find for the Rockets this season. He played in 42 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Luther Head is the designated assassin from long range on the Rockets. He played in 73 games (17 starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 7.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Chuck Hayes is a tough guy around the glass for the Rockets. He played in 79 games (44 starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 3.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Rookie Aaron Brooks won’t likely get much playing time in this series but he has big-time potential for the future. Brooks played in 51 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 5.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Steve Novak could also get a couple of minutes in this series. He played in 35 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 3.9 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.2 assists per game.
The Jazz have a very lethal bench. Kyle Korver is a deadeye shooter from long range. He played in 50 games (0 starts) for the Jazz this year and he averaged 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Matt Harpring is an outstanding bench player because he always hustles. Harpring played in 76 games (0 starts) this year for the Jazz and he averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Second year man Paul Millsap had another good season for the Jazz. He played in 82 games (2 starts) and he averaged 8.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. C.J. Miles is the backup shooting guard and he did a decent job with his limited playing time. Miles played in 60 games (13 starts) for the Jazz this season and he averaged 5.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Ronnie Price can handle either guard position. He played in 61 games (3 starts) for the Jazz this year and he averaged 3.7 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Jason Hart is a point guard but he didn’t get to play too much this year. Hart played in 57 games (0 starts) for the Jazz this year and he averaged 3.7 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Center Jarron Collins is nothing more than a space eater. He played in 70 games (9 starts) for the Jazz this year and he averaged 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.
EDGE: JAZZ
PREDICTION: THE JAZZ IN FIVE.
The Rockets fell behind 53-43 in the first half and that was a little too much for them to overcome last night. Yao had a solid game with 29 points and 6 rebounds. Tracy McGrady had an outstanding game with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists and 2 blocked shots. Shane Battier was very busy last night with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Rafer Alston didn’t shoot well (3 for 11) but he still finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. The Rockets lost the series 4-3 to the Jazz and their season is now over.
The Rockets just didn’t play too well tonight and the Jazz took advantage of that. Tracy McGrady was only 8 for 23 from the floor but he still led the Rockets in scoring with 26 points and he also had 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Yao Ming also had a rough night despite scoring 25 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Yao turned the ball over 8 times tonight and that hurt the Rockets cause in the end. Rafer Alston pitched in with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. The series is now tied 3-3 with game 7 Saturday Night in Houston.
The Rockets took the game over in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Jazz 28-20 to win the game last night. Yao had a rough shooting night (6 of 18) but he still finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Tracy McGrady had an outstanding basketball game last night with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 16 assists. Shane Battier came alive and had a good game with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Rafer Alston did a good job last night with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Juwan Howard had a solid game off of the bench as he was 6 for 6 from the floor and he finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Chuck Hayes had another tough game as he didn’t score in 27 minutes on the court. The Rockets now lead this series 3-2.