The Utah Jazz are staring at a steep climb Friday night, and the path out of their 10-game skid runs straight through Houston.
At 1-11, Utah heads into a road matchup with the 9-3 Rockets needing more than a clean night from one player. If the Jazz are going to steal a win and finally get back in the victory column, they’ll need a few key contributors to punch above their weight against one of the West’s early standouts.
Ace Bailey is the first name that jumps out. With the Jazz short-handed in the frontcourt because of injuries to Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jusuf Nurkic, Bailey’s workload figures to be heavy on both ends.
Offensively, he has already shown he can handle a bigger scoring role, putting up 41 points across the last two games against the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic in 66 total minutes. That challenge gets tougher against a Houston defense that ranks seventh in defensive rating.
On the other side, Bailey also looks likely to spend a lot of time matched up with Kevin Durant, a task that will test him in a big way.
Svi Mykhailiuk is another player Utah needs to wake up. He hasn’t given the Jazz the kind of shooting they got from him last season, averaging just 2.8 points per game while shooting 28.8% from the field and 21.6% from three.
That kind of slump is hard to hide against a Rockets team that makes life miserable on the perimeter. Houston allows the sixth-fewest three-point makes and ranks second in three-point percentage allowed at 31.5%.
If Utah’s younger players run into trouble against that defense, Mykhailiuk’s veteran touch becomes even more important.
Then there’s Jaxson Hayes, whose role has grown as Utah has dealt with injuries to Jackson Jr. and Nurkic. Against Houston, his job gets even bigger because of what the Rockets can do on the glass.
Houston ranks 10th in offensive rebounding, but its numbers on the defensive side are even more striking: second-lowest opposing defensive rebounds at 28.7 and third-lowest opposing total rebounds per game at 40.7. Hayes, who starts at center and averages more than six rebounds per game, could have a major say in the possession battle, which has been a recurring problem for the Jazz early this season.
If Utah is going to snap the losing streak, these three have to deliver.
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