The Houston Rockets travel to Salt Lake City on Thursday night to face the Utah Jazz in a game of teams that are going in opposite directions.
The Rockets (47-26) have won 10 of 11 as they approach the end of the regular season on a tear. Meanwhile, the Jazz (16-57) enter this contest having lost three straight and 13 of their last 14.
Jalen Green led Houston in its most recent outing, a 121-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks, but the Rockets, who begin a three-game road trip, are finding success by spreading the offense in near-historic ways.
Seven different Houston players who have logged playing time in at least 40 games this season average 12 or more points per game. That group includes Green (21.5 ppg), Alperen Sengun (19.0), Fred VanVleet (14.6), Dillon Brooks (14.0), Amen Thompson (14.0), Tari Eason (12.2) and Jabari Smith Jr. (12.2).
If that continues through the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the Rockets would be the first team since the 1981-82 Milwaukee Bucks to do that in a season, according to the Houston Chronicle.
At least five Houston players have scored in double figures in 12 of the last 13 games.
“The balance is always good for us,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka told the Chronicle. “Obviously, Alpi and Jalen are for the most part on a nightly basis gonna be there. But when we can come in layers like that, I think that’s when we’re at our best.”
Green said Houston thrives on knowing that any guy can carry the offensive load on any given night, like he did against the Hawks. Despite only connecting on 1 of 7 3-pointers, Green made 14 of 24 shots and grabbed 11 rebounds in the victory. He also had four assists and two steals with five turnovers.
“Super important, because it’s not just one guy,” Green said. “We’ve been saying we’re a deep, deep team and anybody can get it going. Anybody can have a good night. So it’s always us, together.”
That depth should serve Houston well come playoff time.
“A team can’t zero in on one or two guys to kind of slow us down,” Udoka said. “When we do defend the way we are right now and get out and run, it’s basically equal opportunity.”
On the other hand, the Jazz are limping toward the end of the season.
After leading by 14 points on Monday, the Jazz imploded in the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies en route to an ugly 140-103 setback.
“Yeah, no question,” Jazz big man Walker Kessler said. “We got embarrassed.”
Especially in the second half.
Memphis outscored Utah 41-17 in the third quarter. The Jazz were outrebounded 18-3 in the quarter and made only 5 of 17 field goals.
“I’m a very competitive person and there are moments where I feel like I’m having to restrain the core of who I am, because there seems to be an unwillingness at times to understand that this is not something that you can take for granted,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “The NBA will stop for no one, and our program will stop for nobody.”
–Field Level Media
