The Utah Jazz knew that were in tough, but probably never thought they would be in for a buzzsaw when encountering the Houston Rockets. But they indeed have, and now they have to come up with an answer. Certainly they hope that it comes on Saturday night when these teams meet up at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. Game time is 10:35 PM ET, and BetAnySports customers get a treat that is rare indeed, as they have access to reduced juice, which can get the odds "reduced" to almost nothing when you are betting on pro basketball.

Houston has won the first two games of the series, in convincing enough fashion that they are one of only eight teams in NBA playoff annals to have won the first two games of a series by at least 20 points. So the proposition we are faced with is whether this is an indication as to the gap that currently exists between these teams, or can the Jazz just remedy matters by returning home?

Going back to Salt Lake City isn't going to suddenly make James Harden disappear. And the reigning MVP is coming off a game where he registered a triple-double with 32 points, 13 rebounds and ten assists. Because Harden is the kind of player who takes a LOT of shots, the best thing a defense can do is to put him in positions on the court that are not comfortable for him. But he is going to keep coming anyway.

And will Utah come with anything? It's a question necessary to ponder, because they are laying points in the NBA odds with reduced juice from BetAnySports, which we'll use for our pro basketball picks:

Utah Jazz -2.5 (-105)
Houston Rockets +2.5 (-105)

Over 215.5 points -105
Under 215.5 points -105

Part of what makes Houston so effective is that they not only have multiple offensive outlets, but have become more comfortable on working in the half-court, with the slower pace. This is something that allows Harden to find other places to feed the ball when he is not able to penetrate the way he's used to.

Rudy Gobert has been in double-double territory in a dozen straight games, but this doesn't really address the biggest dilemma for the Jazz as we approach Game 3. You see, we could usually make the assumption that a team might regain its shooting touch coming off a couple of losses. But we can't make that assumption about Utah, because the Rockets seem to have their number in these encounters.

In Game 3, the Jazz were able to hit just 21% of their three-pointers. And they weren't just "cold." They have now shot just 26% from beyond the arc in the last five meetings. Yet they have to get something better out of their rotation in order to advance, and certainly to cover. Either that, or Donovan Mitchell, the young man of many gifts, has to put forth a dominant performance, and he's been kept rather quiet in this series, shooting just 32%.

Until Utah starts getting a little more accurate, we're not all that interested in backing them. So we will take the points with the Rockets.

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