Eight minutes. This is the time during which the Rockets stood up to Jazz. Jalen Green takes the intervals to challenge the grown-ups, and the enthusiasm of the Houston youth is a pleasure to see. But Quin Snyder starts to open his bench, and there, Houston explodes! Joe Ingles lights the first wicks, Donovan Mitchell attacks the circle, and Rudy Gobert crushes a big dunk. In four minutes, the Jazz made the break (32-18).
The rest will be the same with a wild Jordan Clarkson, and a skilful Bogdan Bogdanovic from afar. The Jazz gets into a 3-point contest and the Rockets area is taking water from everywhere.
At the break, Utah leads by 21 points (61-40). Back from the locker room, same scenario, and the gap even reached 36 points. Despite a little burst of pride, the Rockets lost 31 points (122-91) in their room against the only undefeated team in the entire NBA.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
The Jazz bench. The recruiting had impressed, and Quin Snyder can count on a real rotation with 10-11 players. Jazz behaves like a steamroller and the coach has the freedom to make changes without dropping the general level. Better is when the “second unit” comes into play that the opponent explodes.
Kevin Porter Jr’s injury. The Rockets’ roster is not very rich already, and they lost Kevin Porter Jr. in the second quarter. The Houston point guard sprained his ankle and limped into the locker room. We never saw him again from the match.
Invincible. With four wins to start the season, the Jazz are the only team still undefeated, and it’s the franchise’s best start since 2006.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Rudy Gobert. In 28 minutes, the French signed a new double-double, but with a rebound, he ended his good series of 15-15. We will especially remember its impact on the game of the Rockets. Just by his presence, he disrupted the rapid play of the Rockets who did not dare to challenge him. It’s impressive how intimidating he is.
✅ Eric Paschall. He is the Paschall we knew at Golden State, opportunist in attack and warrior in defense. He throws himself on every balloon that lies around, and his complementarity with Hassan Whiteside is interesting.
⛔ Jalen Green. After his 10 3-point shots against Boston, the Rockets rookie is completely torn with a 3 of 13 on shots, including a 0 of 8 3-point. It must be said that the defense of Jazz was remarkable, and that there was a real desire to send it a message.
A FIRST PHILIPPINE
For the first time in the history of the NBA, there were two players of Filipino origin on the floor: Jalen Green on the Houston side and Jordan Clarkson on the Jazz side. For the occasion, the Rockets organized the Filipino Heritage Night.
THE FOLLOWING
Utah (4-0) : Saturday night, it is the shock with the trip to Chicago.
Houston (1-4) : A little rest for the young Rockets who only play again on Sunday night with the Rockets.
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