NBA Playoff Preview - Utah vs. Houston

By Warren Blatt, NBA Editor

Utah Jazz: 4th Seed, West (51-31)

Houston Rockets: 5th Seed, West (52-30)

The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz have returned to the postseason, as the teams will battle in the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs.

The Jazz captured the Northwest Division and are the fourth seed in the Western Conference, while Houston is No. 5 and finished in third place in the Southwest Division. The Rockets own home-court advantage in this best-of-seven series since they had a better regular-season record than Utah.

There is plenty of playoff history between the Jazz and Rockets. This is the sixth time in the postseason that the teams will square off.

Houston defeated Utah in the first round of the postseason in 1995 and in the 1994 West finals. The Jazz knocked out the Rockets in the opening round of 1985 and 1998 and in the 1997 conference finals.

Utah ended a three-year playoff drought by qualifying for this year's postseason. The Jazz last appeared in the playoffs in 2003, when they were eliminated in five games by the Sacramento Kings in the opening round.

The Jazz, who have not advanced past the first round since 2000, were in control of the division from day one. They opened the campaign by winning four straight and 12 of their first 13 games.

Center Mehmet Okur and power forward Carlos Boozer played like All-Stars, while point guard Deron Williams emerged as one of the best in the league at his position. Boozer led the Jazz in scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.7 rpg), while Williams was the team's top assist man at 9.3 per contest.

Forward Andrei Kirilenko's production on offense declined for the Jazz, but he still was a force defensively. Matt Harpring provided an offensive spark off the bench, while veteran Derek Fisher added valuable experience to the club..

Head coach Jerry Sloan has guided the Jazz to the playoffs for the 16th time during his tenure with the club. Sloan, who has been general on the Utah bench since the 1988-89 campaign, is 78-80 all-time in the playoffs, 76-76 with the Jazz.

The last time Utah was victorious in a playoff series was in 2000, when its eliminated Seattle, 3-2, in the first round.

Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy completed his fourth year with club, and has his team back in the postseason after a one-year absence. Van Gundy, who has led Houston to the playoffs three times during his tenure, did a great job keeping his squad sharp without one of its top players for an extended period of time.

All-Star center Yao Ming missed 32 games earlier this season with a non- displaced fracture in a bone under his right knee. Without Yao, who led the team in scoring (25.0 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg), the Rockets were a surprising 20-12.

Tracy McGrady finished his third and arguably his finest season with the Rockets. The All-Star guard, who averaged a team-best 6.4 assists per game, put the team on his back when Yao was out. He made his teammates better and hit clutch shots to help his squad stay in the thick of the playoff race.

Guards Rafer Alston and Luther Head gave Houston solid shooting from the perimeter, while forward Shane Battier, who finished his first season with the Rockets, provided excellent defense and also contributed on the offensive end.

Under Van Gundy, the Rockets are 4-8 in the postseason and have not advanced past the first round. They were knocked out in five games by the Lakers in 2004 and in seven by Dallas in 2005.

Houston has not won a playoff series since 1997. The Rockets last postseason series victory was when they defeated Seattle, 4-3, in the 1997 West semis.

During the regular season, the Jazz won three of their four meetings with Houston. Utah won a pair at home, and split two contests with the Rockets at the Toyota Center.

STARTING FRONTCOURT: Yao is healthy and is once again playing like a dominant big man for the Rockets. He can knock down a jumper consistently from 15-feet and in, which makes his game in the paint more devastating.

Battier is Van Gundy's best defender and does his best work on the defensive end of the court, while Chuck Hayes is a rebounder and is expected to earn his keep by taking care of the dirty work down low. However, while Battier is not a scorer, he can knock down the outside jumper.

Okur, Boozer and Kirilenko are one of the top all-around frontcourts in the league. The 6-11 Okur can hit the outside jumper and will try and take Yao away from the basket, while Boozer will do his best work off the boards and around the hoop. Kirilenko has not been himself this season, and the Jazz will hope that he can find his offensive game and give them an edge.

The Jazz have a better all-around frontcourt, but Yao evens things out. The Rockets center is capable of single-handedly dominating a game. If Okur can get hot from the outside, it will create matchup problems for the Rockets and Van Gundy will have to adjust with Battier, who could find himself guarding all three of Utah's frontcourt starters at different times during the series.

EDGE: EVEN

STARTING BACKCOURT: In just his second season in the NBA, Williams has become one of the top point guards in the league. The Illinois product can score and has a knack for getting the ball to his teammates at the right time. The 6-3 Williams can do it all and is a big reason for the success that Utah enjoyed in 2006-07.

Fisher is a veteran who knows his role. He can handle the ball and is capable of knocking down the long jumper. The 6-1 Fisher, who completed his first season with Utah, won three championship rings with the Lakers and was acquired from Golden State last offseason for this time of year.

McGrady, who was second on the Rockets in scoring (24.6 ppg), has dealt with some back problems this season, but when healthy he can do it all. He is most effective in the open court, but has developed a potent outside game which makes him very difficult to defend. The 6-8 McGrady is a matchup problem for the Jazz, who will probably give Kirilenko the job of defending Houston's All- Star guard.

Alston did not shoot a high percentage from the field this season, but he is deadly from beyond the arc when he is on. If Alston is hot, Yao and McGrady become much more difficult to defend. The Rockets need their starting point guard to shoot a high percentage from the outside, as that will open up the court for their two All-Star.

McGrady is the difference. Williams and Fisher can't guard him effectively, which will cause Sloan to have to adjust and use Kirilenko to guard McGrady. Either way, McGrady gives the Rockets a huge advantage which will have a major effect on the outcome of the series.

EDGE: ROCKETS

BENCH: Both teams have solid benches. Veterans Juwan Howard and Dikembe Mutombo will play big minutes on the front line for Houston, while Head is Van Gundy's go-to player off the pine in the backcourt.

Sloan will call on swingman Harpring, who can play small forward or shooting guard, Gordan Giricek, rookie Ronnie Brewer and big man Paul Millsap to give him valuable minutes off the bench.

Neither team is going to win the series because of its reserves. However, the Rockets seem to lose less when they go to their bench, while Utah's play drops off significantly when Sloan has to rest his starters.

EDGE: ROCKETS

PREDICTION: McGrady and Yao lead Houston into the second round of the playoffs. While the Jazz are a very good team and have three players who had excellent seasons, the Rockets will be too much for Sloan and company to handle. McGrady will cause a lot of problems for Utah defensively, and he will finally feel the thrill of winning a playoff series.

ROCKETS IN FIVE

2007 NBA Playoffs